Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Technoblade, above all else, was a loyal man.

It's not usually a thought for most people he'd met, enemies and acquaintances alike, to describe him as, but that did not make it less true. He valued his connections more than his wealth and his veins sang when the blood of his enemies, those who may have threatened what was his, splashed against his skin. His bloodthirst and savagery were not exaggerated, but neither were they his defining traits. The warrior learnt, long before he truly knew who- what- he was, that putting on a show was the best way to keep those he loved safe, and so perform he did. He danced to the tune of the crowd, killed those he was told to, and presented himself as nothing more than a perfect weapon. He fought his way up the rankings of the sky battles and pushed himself to win streaks in the thousands, because it was better to draw attention to himself rather than those around him. He hid his family in the shadows of his success, and for a while, it worked.

And then his family changed.

His first brother, the eldest son, grew from a music-loving child to a dreamer of a man, writing his songs and singing of idyllic times that would surely never come to pass. His younger brother became a firecracker of a teenager with a tongue as sharp as barbs and a temper running hotter than any flame. His father began his wanderings once more and his own moniker was formed, as he was content in the knowledge that his family would be able to look after themselves and was unable to withstand the siren call of the skies any longer. They all drew attention to themselves like moths to a flame and soon, Technoblade found his shadow to be too small to shield them any longer.

This is when things fell apart.

Philza lost himself in the wonders of his world. He originally swore to check up on his family regularly, but his excuses were too perfect for his mind to dismiss. Eventually, he forgot all about how his sons still needed him and immersed himself in the silence and challenge of building up a new world.

Wilbur and Tommy, as a result, clung to each other to gain the comfort they'd lost from their father. They turned their ideas outward and their goals only grew as the force keeping them realistic wandered away. They eventually started communities and empires of their own; always together and relying on no-one but themselves.

And Technoblade? He could do nothing but watch as his family fractured and pieces of himself died with it. His brothers, those he'd sworn to defend, couldn't recognise the loyalty and protection in his silence and shunned him for it. It grated against his mind until he was so raw from the perceived failure to protect his family that he decided to seek comfort elsewhere. In a woman.

It was the one night he would always come to simultaneously regret and thank the gods above that it had come to pass.

Technoblade huffed as he trudged through the dense forest, relying on nothing but his own superior (as he claimed) sense of direction to guide him towards the small cavern he'd begun to dig out for himself. The ravine he and his brothers shared grew more cramped and tense as the days passed. Tommy had graduated from annoying to insufferable after the events of the 'Red Festival', as people had dubbed it, and it was taking all of Techno's energy to stop himself from lashing out at the (rightfully) angry teen. Wilbur had been arguably worse; he had gone almost silent after the disturbing encouragement in the face of his two brothers beating each other up and while his voice disappeared, the manic glint in his eyes only grew as the days passed.

(Tubbo was still unconscious even four days later, an inch thick layer of bandages concealing what used to be a gaping burnt hole in his chest before the healing potions did their job).

Technoblade, in response to the rising anxiety the entire situation was causing, had been looking for an out all day and had finally jumped on the opportunity when Tommy mentioned lacking firewood for keeping everyone warm. They'd used the majority of it when treating Tubbo (which Techno had wisely not been present for) and at the time, they'd been more concerned with keeping the boy alive than conserving wood. And so the moment the words left Tommy's mouth, Technoblade was calling out that he'd take care of it as he left the ravine as fast as he dared without implying the very wrong conclusion that he was running.

That led to his current situation; hopelessly lost in the woods while trying to convince the peanut gallery in his head of the opposite.

"Cmon' Chat, I swear I only got distracted by the wolf for a second . Pogtopia is around here somewhere, and when I find it I'll start gathering wood. I'm not lost."

"Technolost!
LAME
Coords, coords!
Human GPS, ha!
Go east!
No, west!
EEEEEE-"

Techno groaned, more in annoyance than any discomfort, as Chatter (or Chat, as Techno had dubbed them as a shorter way of referral) droned on within his head. They had proven themselves time and time again to be utterly hopeless with anything that wasn't violence, and that moment was no different. 

Peering through the trees, eyes squinting as the cacophony in his brain spiked momentarily, Techno smirked as he spotted what seemed to be a light dusting of snow and a smattering of spruce trees on the caps of a mountain. Stalking forward, he reached the outcropping quickly and scaled it in even less time. 'It was more like a mound, anyway. Too small to be anything but a tall hill.' Techno mused to himself as he crested the top of the said hill and began to look around. He frowned when no familiar landscape immediately became recognisable, and instead turned his attention to the sun, which was just setting in front of him. "Okay so if that's east, then I need to go west, and-" 

A twig snapped behind Techno suddenly, sending him spinning around, eyes wide and teeth bared. His hand went to his sword, ripping it from it's sheath so it was ready to be used at a moment's notice, and Chat erupted in his mind at the perceived threat. His red eyes scanned the treeline and narrowed in on a dark shape stomping from out behind a tree. Whoever they were, they didn't slow down at the sight of him, nor did they make any steps to arm themselves, and it was this fact that had Technoblade hesitating as the figure marched right up to him. "Take it!" A woman's voice hissed out from behind the cloak, and with a shot of horror, Technoblade realised he knew that voice . However before he could do anything, a heavy, warm bundle was shoved into his arms so violently that he grunted, fumbling with his sword before eventually dropping it onto the snow-covered stone with a muffled clang. Seeing Techno take her package, the woman spun on her heel and stalked off, ranting all the while. "I didn't ask for this! I wanted nothing to do with this! But I tried, by god I tried but I'm not cut out to be a mother, let alone one that has to parent a freak . You're the same as it, so you take it! I travelled far enough to find you so don't you dare give it back!" The woman's voice trailed off as the sounds of her footsteps and angry rants were absorbed by the trees. All Techno could do was stand there and blink owlishly in the direction the familiar woman had gone, arms steadily growing warmer with the weight held within them. "...Chat." Techno croaked out, limbs trembling faintly from the left over adrenaline. "What the fuck was that?"

"Child, pog?
Kill the woman.
Kill the baby.
Aw, baby!
Technodad!
Bad mother!
Mothers aren't pog!"

Techno tuned out the chatter in his head, wondering why he ever asked their opinion, and instead turned his attention to the bundle in his arms. It was heavier than expected, warmer too, and Techno's face dropped as it shifted in his arms. On its own. "Oh no. Ohhh boy, please don't tell me this is what I think it is." Techno whispered while he gently maneuvered the cloth from the top of the bundle.

And there, staring back at him, was a tiny pale face attached to an equally tiny, fragile body with wisps of pink curly hair cascading down their head, pointed pink ears that were far too similar to his own for comfort, and teary golden eyes. 

Techno could only stare, eyes wide with stupefaction, as the baby (someone handed him a baby; a small defenceless child what the hell were they thinking-) gurgled and cooed up at him. A single thought ran through his brain, echoed by an uncharacteristically silent Chat, and seemed to sum up their current predicament quite nicely.

"Well, fuck."

Chapter Text

Technoblade could only blink, eyes scanning every inch of the baby in his arms. He took in the curly pink ringlets, already as thick as a bush and the exact same shade as his own; took in the pale skin with the barest hint of rose in her cheeks and the tip of her nose; took in the bright, almost glowing golden eyes that glinted in the setting sun, dark pupils slit almost like a cat's and glassy with welling tears- Oh no.

Techno's eyes widened and bit out a quiet curse as the little girl in his arms grew tired of the scrutiny and began to bawl. She flailed her tiny fists, wriggling and twisting in the bindings of the blanket wrapped tight around her. Techno clutched the child to his chest before he accidentally dropped her, gently swaying his body back and forth almost unconsciously as the memories of looking after Tommy as a baby flooded his head. " Shh, shh it's okay, calm down kid, calm down." Techno murmured and cooed softly, keeping his voice as a soothing rumble deep in his chest. He ignored the cackling and teasing from some of the chat, only huffing in amusement at those that seemed to have already become enamored with the child.

"Aww!
Cute child!
Baby pog!
Technodad
Technosoft
Dadnoblade
Protect the child!
Keep the child!
Mini-Tech."

Techno snorted softly at that last one, head snapping down when it was answered by a sleepy snuffle from the now-calm girl in his arms. It was clearly an instinctual noise, since Techno was sure the child was too sleepy to comprehend speech, but the fact that it was so obviously piglin- Techno took a deep breath to stave off the panic as the truths to his current predicament came rushing back. Thankfully, for once chat acted as a good distraction, for their sudden racket brought Techno's attention back to the rapidly setting sun. The wind had picked up some time ago and was now violently whipping through Techno's cloak, and he shivered slightly as the chill nipped at his exposed skin. The baby in his arms fussed, eyes scrunched in sleep as the wind ruffled through her ringlets. Techno curled his arms slightly more around the child to shield her and peered up at the rising moon with a sigh. "Okay, I can panic later. First, get back to base before I have to deal with a sick child instead of, well… just a child. So, I need to go this way-" 

And so, off Techno went, child in tow and netherite sword thoroughly forgotten in the snow.

Huffing in relief as the lake his base was hidden beneath came into view, Techno shifted his grip on the slumbering child in his arms for the upteenth time and trudged towards the entrance. As he approached the edge of the lake, the man was about to jump in before Chat erupted in his mind and caused him to stumble with a curse. “What, Chat?!” Techno bit out, trying to sort through the muddled screams.

“Water bad!
Baby can’t breathe!
Bad Technodad!
Drown it
Dig dig dig!”

Techno grimaced as he realised that yes, Chat was actually correct for once. There was no way the baby was going to enjoy going down a lake, and he doubted he could even swim properly with his arms taken up by the baby. Glancing around and trying to ignore the way the harsh night wind whipped at his face, Techno traipsed to a nearby tree and laid the child gently down at the base. He tucked the blanket securely around the child, making sure that no wind would breach it, and Chat cooed in his head. “Shut it.” Techno frowned, before grabbing his shovel and beginning to dig.

It took a good hour, but eventually there was a lengthy tunnel down into the earth that breached into his no-longer-so-hidden cavern base. Techno rushed back to where he’d stashed the child and let out a relieved breath when she was found in the exact same place he’d set her down, still sound asleep. Scooping her back up effortlessly, Techno plodded down the tunnel, taking a much more sedate pace now that they had escaped the howling wind. The dim torch light in his cave-like base wasn’t the greatest for navigation, had Techno been human, but his enhanced vision made it seem like daylight.

Emerging into the base, Techno trudged over to his bed and placed the child right in the centre. After a moment of hesitation, he also tucked his covers around the child to stop her from potentially rolling off the bed. “I don’t know how old she is, Chat. She could walk, for all I know.” Techno grouched at Chat as they tittered like gossiping old ladies. Techno then trekked back up the cavern and haphazardly filled in the entrance with dirt, ensuring it was secure. He then also filled in the entrance from the cave side, until the new tunnel was completely hidden from both entrances. “There.” Techno nodded to himself, before a whimpering cry caught his attention. Spinning around, the warrior headed for the bed with slight trepidation. What met him was a squirming baby bawling her eyes out, crystal tears streaming down her cheeks. Cursing, Techno picked the child up and attempted to shush her, to no avail. She just got louder and louder.

“Food! 
Hungry baby!
Feed the child
Loud
Kill it!”

Techno glanced at his food chest and hurried over, kicking the lid up with a foot and peering inside. Frowning, he eyed the cooked and preserved meats, as well as the slightly stale potatoes and carrots, with distaste. “You can’t eat these… I think.” Techno muttered to himself. A shine of metal caught his eye and his attention switched to a glistening pile of clean glass bottles, as well as an old bucket in the corner. Heading over to them, Techno somewhat ignored the whispered ideas of chat in his mind, each more absurd than the last, until one of the quieter voices caught his attention.

“Babies like milk, right?”

Tilting his head in consideration, Techno shifted the fussing, but thankfully quieter child, into one arm and grabbed one of the glass bottles with the other. Heading back to the bed, Techno placed her down, wincing when the wailing picked up again, and all but ran for the bubble column in the wall. “I’ll be back!” He called over his shoulder just before he was swallowed by the water.

Techno shushed the fussing child as he perched on his bed, the small girl in his lap. She was weakly gripping the bottle in her tiny hands, not really supporting it at all, while Techno painstakingly tipped the bottle enough for the child to access the milk but not too much for her to choke. It would be a really terrible end to his lineage if he killed the child by trying to feed her. That thought gave the man pause, and he pulled the bottle away from the child as her eyes began to drift shut. Techno caught his bottom lip between his teeth as his mind swirled with confusion and worry, the prevalent thought being ‘Since when do I have a child?!’

“I have no idea what I’m doing, chat.” Techno murmured, although soon came to regret it when his chat exploded in jeers. “Okay okay, I get it, jeez.” The man huffed. 

By this time, the little girl had fallen sound asleep, and so as carefully as he could, Techno deposited the baby on his bed once more. He held his breath as the child fussed, before releasing it in relief when she settled once more. Techno stood still for several moments, his mind running in circles now that it was no longer distracted by the child. ‘What to do, what to do…’ Spotting his communicator, Techno swept it off the floor where it must have fallen earlier, and wondered if asking someone to help- ahem, for their advice , would be a good idea. Loathe to admit it, but Techno wasn’t sure who he could trust, if anyone at all on the server. He usually made it a habit to have at least one ally he could somewhat rely on, but that plan had failed him this time. 

Techno quickly turned on his communicator and peered at the screen, spotting Dream’s name at the top of his, admittedly, very small contact list. He’d barely met anyone from the server, and so didn’t know most of their communicator codes in order to add them to his list. The only ones he had were his brothers, Niki, and Dream. He didn’t know Niki at all enough to even think of going to her, and his brothers were either too immature or too mentally unstable for Techno to feel comfortable introducing a baby to them. However, Dream on the other hand, had none of these issues. Sure, Techno didn’t properly trust the man as far as he could throw him (which was probably pretty far, admittedly), but he trusted him enough to not try and murder a baby, or use their existence against him. At least straight away, that is.

However, seeing his part-friend, part-rival’s name brought up the questions that Techno had pushed back in the effort to get back to base. “How on earth did that woman get on here anyway…? This is a locked world.” Techno scowled, pressing on Dream’s contact name before he lost his nerve. He needed to contact Dream about the potential breach anyway, him being the server… something (Admin or God, Techno wasn’t sure. He hadn’t seen any children born in this world to prove if it was God-molded or simply Admin-formed, and while he knew of his nephew, Fundy, Wilbur had been less than willing to speak about his ‘traitorous son’). If that meant he could also get his the child checked out for any issues at the same time, as well as information on how the hell to take care of a child before he could pawn her off on someone else, well… He wasn’t going to miss the opportunity.

(He resolutely ignored the fact that he knew he wouldn’t be letting her go if she was truly his; family came first, even if they were a tiny baby he hadn’t known the existence of before that day. But he told himself that it was an issue for another time. She might not even be his.

Even then, he wasn’t sure which outcome he’d be happier with).

The communicator buzzed several times before finally clicking in success just as Techno thought it would ring off. “Techno?”

“Hey Dream.”

Chapter Text

Dream heaved out a breath as he travelled through the dense forest, shivering as the frosty wind buffeted his body. His face was thankfully protected by his signature mask, but his hoodie and trousers did a less than stellar job at keeping out the harsh night chill. The weather had picked up unexpectedly that evening and the tingly feeling of electricity zinging down his fingers alerted him of the oncoming storm. While his world was as stable as it had been when he’d first moulded it from the spark he had nurtured, the rapid decline of it’s peace had wreaked havoc on Dream’s emotions, and his world reacted in kind. Weather grew harsher, conditions more dangerous and mobs more vicious. There was a reason why anarchy servers like 2b2t had some of the harshest conditions, and why death rates on them were so high; it wasn’t just because of the lack of restrictions. Thankfully, it seemed to be a limited change and Dream was confident he could resolve the conflict between his players, and fix the bugs and weaknesses that had cropped up because of it, before he lost control of his world completely.

He’d actually been fiddling with the code, attempting to do just that when one of Technoblade’s allusively rare calls had jolted him from his daze. He’d scrambled to pick up his communicator from where he’d haphazardly dumped it on the floor the night before, and had slightly panicked when he’d seen the caller. The last two times Technoblade had called was right after he’d inadvertently caused the collapse of an admin-formed world, and then again to gain access to his own server to follow his brothers. So Dream’s chances of utter destruction or an equally worrying, but not so destructive event being brought to his attention was sitting at an even 50-50 split, and Dream wasn’t sure he was willing to see which way the scales would tip. Nevertheless, he answered anyway.

An hour later, in response, Dream found himself trekking through the harsh wilderness, dodging mobs and killing those he couldn’t avoid, at 3am , going to potentially investigate a breach in his world. All because of Technoblade. 

Sighing, Dream squinted through the wind as a familiar lake in a small wooded valley came into view. Trudging towards the lake, Dream peered into the frigid water and cursed Techno’s decision to make a hidden base under a lake, before diving in. Bracing himself against the freezing water as it immediately soaked his clothes, Dream pulled himself to the bottom of the basin and slipped through the small hole in the rocky river-bed easily. Instantly, the swooping sensation of falling emerged in his stomach and his clothes miraculously dried as he fell.

 “Techno?” Dream called out as he landed, only to be hushed hurriedly and greeted with a rather frazzled looking Technoblade. His pink hair was half falling from its braid, his red cloak nowhere to be seen, and his white blouse was beginning to crease. Dream blinked in bewilderment at the sight, before the alarm kicked in. “Techno? What happened? You look like you got hit by a hurricane.” The piglin hybrid scowled. 
“Well jee, thanks Dream. You don’t look bad yourself.” Techno snarked back, and Dream relaxed minutely. If Techno could throw quips back, then it couldn’t be too bad. ‘Surely,’ Dream thought.
“Where’s the supposed breach then?” Techno rolled his eyes, but permitted Dream entry to his, admittedly cramped, secret base. The walls were crammed with all manner of chests, several overflowing with materials. The torches on the wall burned lightly and Dream’s eyes automatically lightened the room for him so he could see, as they’d always done. The man thankfully didn’t have to duck his head in order to walk in the room, but he could clearly see the way that Techno’s hair was barely brushing against the ceiling as he walked.

Dream followed Techno to the other side of the room, slightly bewildered that whatever this supposed glitch was, Techno was keeping in his base of all places. Dream knew Techno was protective at best and downright possessive at worst, of places he considered his safe zones. It was why he was so shocked when Techno willingly gave him the coords of his base (not that he didn’t already know them) and why he’d dropped his work to head straight over. Best to honour that kind of compromise before a debt was formed.

The green-clad and frowned when Techno suddenly jolted to a stop, form deceptively relaxed in a stance that Dream recognised easily - the masked man wore it everyday, after all. “Dream.” Techno intoned, and immediately the masked man was on guard. Techno’s voice, despite not raising his volume, seemed to boom through the room. There was a hidden infliction there that promised pain and made Dream’s instincts scream in danger. Sometimes, Dream forgot that while the pair weren’t enemies, they weren’t allies either. Usually, the pair quipped back and forth and Dream, even hesitantly, would have labelled most of their interactions as nothing if not playful . 

Then, Techno went and pulled stunts like that and proved just why his skills were enough to earn him the moniker of a god.

Straightening in alarm, but remaining unarmed, Dream stared warily at Techno’s back. “Can I trust you to keep this between us, Dream?” Dream frowned in confusion.
“Well, if it’s too much for me to handle I’ll probably have to call in Sapnap-”
“You must tell no-one Dream. Do you understand?” Techno snarled, turning his head slightly to meet Dream’s eyes, and Dream fell silent. Techno’s eyes were a deep, burning crimson, slitted like a cat’s (or piglin’s, in this case), and the blonde man had never seen his rival so deadly serious as he was now. Of course, Dream was never one to take unnecessary risks and accept promises that he may not want to keep, but he could tell he wouldn’t get anywhere with Techno otherwise. The man would not budge, and so Dream, for one of the handful times he ever had in his existence, conceded.

“Of course. I swear it on my soul.” Dream promised, inclining his head, and both men felt the tension in the room almost ripple . Dream heard the whispers of bells solidifying his promise, but couldn’t help but wonder if they were his death knolls as well. Techno seemed to deflate all at once and Dream watched in fascination, having never seen this side of the man before. He realised that the pink-haired warrior must be extending quite a bit of trust to see him so vulnerable (or at least, looking so vulnerable). Ever one to believe in absolute reciprocation, Dream shrugged off his sword holster, leaning it against a nearby chest close enough to get to in a few steps but well away from where he’d be able to reach before Techno could stop, or at least hinder, him. The man in question eyed the action, clearly realising it’s significance, but didn’t say anything. He simply stepped aside, allowing Dream to see what he’d been blocking on the bed the entire time.

And what a sight it was, for laying on the bed was a tiny, wriggling baby with bright pink ringlets the colour of cherry blossoms, pale skin and pointed ears.

Techno watched with narrow eyes as Dream completely stilled at the sight of the baby, and an amused part of his brain (that wasn’t focused on looking for potential threats to the child) thought that he looked a little like a crashed world, if that was something that could be viewed by mortal eyes. Chat cackled at the thought.

“Since when do you have a child , Techno?!” Dream suddenly exploded, flailing his arms, and Techno hissed as the baby jolted awake, wailing. Dream shrunk in embarrassment, but couldn’t help but curiously watch as Techno seamlessly scooped the child up and managed to rock her back to sleep within a few moments. “...How long has she been here?” Techno shot a glare at Dream, but still answered.
“A few hours. Four, maybe five at most.” Dream’s eyes widened in astonishment.
“Wow, you’re a natural Techno.” The scowl the pinkett aimed at Dream could have stripped paint from a wall, but Dream didn’t react. He didn’t even have the decency to look at all shamed. “She can’t be mine, Dream. She just can’t .” Techno stressed, and Dream frowned. 
“What, you’ve never-” Techno cut him off hurriedly with a low growl, and whatever expression the man was wearing must have tipped Dream off.
“Ah.” Techno internally sighed. 
‘He gets it.’

“You’re in denial.” Techno growled, a vein in his forehead twitching with his ire. 
“I am not in denial! I can’t have a kid! How the hell can I have a kid when I literally have a sword named after killing kids?!” Dream scoffed, acting as if it was all trivially easy and Techno was being quite stupid.
“That’s only orphans , and you’re clearly her dad, with the pink hair and all-” Dream stoically ignored the daggers being aimed at him by Techno’s glower. “-so she’s not an orphan!” Dream spun around, arms out wide as if to say ‘tadaa!’ , but Techno didn’t appreciate the sentiment. 
“Just… I know you have a way to see ancestories so… do that. On her.” Techno stared at Dream expectantly. 

Dream stood still for a few moments, waiting to see if Techno would get any more riled up, but when the warrior simply raised an eyebrow in expectation, Dream knew the ball was in his court now. He thought for a split second about denying the piglin hybrid’s request, but he immediately dashed that thought. Techno was an important ally to have, and while it would have been funny to watch the man wrestle with his feelings, it wasn’t worth it if it lost Dream the man’s trust. ‘This’ll have to do.’ Dream thought.

Giving an explosive sigh, the green-clad man walked forward to stand directly in front of his rival. Bringing his hands up, Dream let them begin to spark with golden energy, little wisps playfully swirling around his fingers and palms, winding all the way down to his wrists before curling back up again. The masked man noticed Techno’s form tensing as the energy swirled to life, and rolled his eyes. “Calm down, dad , this won’t hurt her.” Techno didn’t bother to deign that with a reply; he simply watched as the golden energy reached down to the baby and sunk harmlessly into her skin. 

Dream closed his eyes, not that Technoblade could see, and cleared his mind as the soul of the little baby became clear to him. It was a swirling, rolling little ball of energy that was a very curious colour. It was as black at pitch, but not malevolent, and every now and then, a small amount of colour would twirl through the ball before fading again. Dream had never seen anything like it before, as most beings had single-coloured souls. Something also felt distinctly off with the girl’s aura; it was like an orchestra with a single instrument playing slightly out of tune from the others; impossible to pinpoint, but still noticeable. However, it didn’t seem to be causing any problems so Dream left it alone. 

Instead, he delved deep into her lineage, flicking through visions of her ancestors so fast it would have blinded a normal man. He tracked her maternal line first, and was disappointed to find it very boring. Her mother had been a spiteful and vengeful woman, looking only to marry a wealthy partner and live in luxury. She had been devastated and angry that she’d fallen pregnant, and Dream could already tell that the baby was incredibly lucky that her mother had surrendered her. Her maternal grandparents, great-grandparents, and even several more generations up through the tree, were unremarkable as well. Well, one of her great-great-grandaunts seemed to have made a name for herself in a different world as a very prolific warrior, but apart from that, there was nothing of note. 

Her father’s side, however…. That was very interesting. Her great-grandparents weren’t of note, although her grandfather seemed to have been a rather ruthless piglin brute, but her grandmother …. ‘I’ll need to look into that a bit more… It might mean what I think it does, but it also may not. Best not to mention it for now.’

Dream gasped as he pulled back from the baby’s soul, staggering slightly as he came back to the living world. He felt a strong hand grip his arm tightly to steady him, and as Dream shook his head to remove the lingering vertigo, he whispered his thanks to the piglin hybrid.

Opening his eyes, Dream peered at Technoblade, who gazed impassively back. However, Dream could see the impatience and well-concealed terror in the slightly narrowing of the man’s eyes; in the twitching of his arms that held the baby, and the constant little movements the man was making with his body. If it were anyone else, Techno would have seemed completely at ease, but Dream had fought the man almost to the death several weeks ago; you get to know someone very quickly while fighting them and reading their every movement. Dream sighed, easing the mask slightly off to the side so Techno could see one of his eyes, knowing the piglin well enough to realise he’d need to read it from Dream’s eyes himself that the green-clad man wasn’t lying. “Techno…”

“...she’s yours.”

Chapter Text

Techno couldn’t help but drink in the sight of the child- ( his daughter, his own flesh and blood heir) -while his brain spiralled. Chat had not shut up once since Dream had announced the news, and Techno hadn’t been able to think properly to decide whether the information was a welcome surprise or a horrific nightmare. Chat certainly seemed to be split in two, if the civil war in his brain was any indication.

Dream had retreated to the other side of the room, making himself busy by nosing through Techno’s chests like some sort of busy-body. Techno could feel the man’s eyes flicking to him every few moments, even in his shocked state. He knew the only reason Dream was still there was to see Techno’s reaction; no doubt it would be the highlight of the week for the green ‘teletubby’, as Techno called him. 

Techno sat down heavily on his bed, barely jostling the small baby in his arms, in an effort to keep his emotions in check. He was not going to freak out in front of Dream. Nope. He was fine. Just fine. Unfortunately, Chat wasn’t helping, still rowing with each other over the supposed fate of the tiny child in arms. It felt like anarchy had descended on his brain, and not the good kind that he supported; more like uncontrollable chaos that destroyed more than it helped. “Chat, shut up. ” Techno hissed, scowling darkly. It came out so deep it almost sounded like a snarling rumble, and Dream’s head shot around from where he’d been examining one of Techno’s many diamonds. Thankfully for Techno, Dream didn’t say a word, and with the somewhat calming of Chat (of course there were still the crazy, shrieking ones who never shut up, but Techno had practice in blocking those few out), the piglin hybrid felt himself begin to relax. He didn’t even realise how tense he’d been until he unlocked his muscles with a swallowed groan of discomfort. 

Stretching his back, Techno grimaced as his spine popped. However, a light giggling captured the man’s attention and bewildered, Techno glanced down. He watched as the child laying in his lap smiled, trying to clap her hands together but missing every other clap. Her golden eyes were squinted in mirth and sparkling, despite the slight daze of incomprehension all young babies held. She wiggled lightly as she laughed, and Techno vaguely registered an amused huff from the other corner of the room. However, the piglin hybrid was too enraptured by the tiny being in his arms to care. Eyes wide, Techno gently moved a hand closer to her, as if to stroke her head, before pausing. ‘What if I hurt her?...’ The baby made the decision for him, reaching up with one tiny hand and gripping onto his outstretched finger with a tinkling babble. Techno froze immediately, letting the baby try and squeeze the life out of his finger. ‘She’s not so bad, I guess…’ The man absently thought.

(Techno resolutely ignored how Chat was wildly chanting ‘ Technodad’ over and over in his head.

He also ignored how he didn’t exactly hate it.)

Dream suddenly huffed out a loud breath from the corner, startling the two pinkettes out of their daze. The baby let go of Techno’s finger as her attention shifted to the new noise, and the warrior hurriedly reclaimed the mentioned limb. “Well, I’ve got to go, Techno. Duty calls, an’ all that.” Dream drawled out, and while his face wasn’t visible after he’d replaced his mask several minutes ago, his posture just screamed that he was smirking. Techno immediately jumped up, causing the little girl in his arms to yelp in shock. “Wait, Dream! You can’t just leave me with the child!” Dream paused and cocked his head, feigning confusion and revelling in the frosty glare he received in return.

“Well what do you expect me to do with your child?” The green-clad man almost purred tauntingly. Techno willed himself to ignore the taunts, and settled down before the squirming child in his arms started bawling. “Can’t you… find someone else to take her? I can’t take care of a kid, Dream. I can’t .” Techno bit out, posture twisting into something far more defensive and fragile looking than normal. Dream blinked at the sight, sure that the reaction was unconscious. “Are you sure, Techno? Once you give her up… you’re not getting her back.” Dream warned, tone serious to match the new topic of their conversation. Techno glanced down at the child, watching the way she snuggled into the blanket around her, and by extension his arms. The weight was almost, dare he say, comforting to him, and Chat cooed in his mind. His face softened slightly and he hesitated, peripherally thankful that Dream waited without interrupting. However, a few voices then rose above the muffled, loving mess his Chat had become, all saying the same thing that froze his thoughts and hardened his heart. 

“Looking after a kid? What happened to Blood for the Blood God , huh?”

Techno wrenched his gaze from the child and stared at Dream. The masked man immediately noticed the change in demeanor and the uncaring aloofness Techno’s eyes had adopted, and frowned. “I’m sure, Dream. I don’t want kids. Not now, and not ever.” Biting his lip, Dream thought rapidly about the decision he was about to make, before silently sighing. “Well, okay then. If you’re sure. Give me two days, I’ll be back here then to collect her. I’m sure I can find someone suitable in that time off-world.” Techno’s eyes widened in panic, frame tensing at the news.
“Two days?! Can’t you take her now? I can’t look after her at all, let alone two days?! ” Techno complained, and Dream smirked.
“Sorry Techno, these things take time! Right, got-to-go-bye! ” With that, Dream leapt into the water spout, but not before hearing Techno’s furious shout beforehand.

“DREAM!”

“Heh, you’ll be thanking me soon enough, Techno.” Dream smirked. “Now, who to call…” The man mused as he languidly wandered back into the forest and out of sight.

Techno glared down at the wailing baby in his arms, staying deathly still in the hope he’d calm down on her own. He knew that babies didn’t work like that, and Chat screaming in his head to comfort her didn’t help, but he couldn’t. She wasn’t his, despite Dream’s parentage confirmation saying otherwise, and he wouldn’t get attached. He wouldn’t .

(He pretended to not hear the few shouts in his Chat that said otherwise; pretended they were drowned out by the others.)

Techno blew out a harsh breath before spinning around and marching to his bed. The brief thought of just dumping her on the bed and leaving to get some fresh air flashed across his mind, but he discarded it immediately. Images of her rolling off the bed and cracking her head open, or almost suffocating herself in the bedsheets, or worse, someone hearing her crying and finding her and by extension his hideout, flashed behind Techno’s eyes. Grimacing, Techno laid the child down and tucked the sheets around her, securing her in a caldera of blankets. “Just to make sure she doesn’t kick the bucket before Dream comes back for her. That would be embarrassing.” Techno grumbled to himself. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince anymore- .

Wandering to the other side of his tiny bunker, Techno hurriedly kicked off his shoes into a corner. Brushing his hand through his hair to undo the braid, Techno shook his hair like a dog to try and loosen the pressure on his scalp. Rubbing his head soothingly, Techno wandered around his bunker collecting misplaced resources, generally tidying up, and also making sure Dream hadn’t stolen anything valuable. The baby calmed down a few moments into this, and when Techno noticed the lack of noise and glanced towards the bed, he spotted sleepy golden eyes blinking tiredly back at him. She was wrapped up completely in blankets, only her head and single arm visible, with a tiny hand clenched in his bedsheets. Techno faltered at the sight slightly, before shaking off the strange urge to move towards her. Instead, he grabbed some preserved beef, carefully selected a book from one of his many bookshelves, before settling in his singular chair to relax. If that chair happened to be next to the bed, and by extension, the baby… well, it was easier to keep an eye on her.

The next thing Techno knew, he was jolting awake from his chair at a piercing wail echoing from nearly right next to his ear. Wincing as his spine and neck popped from his awkward position, Techno groaned in irritation when he realised the wailing was the baby on his bed. Techno hauled himself up and loomed over the bed, frowning at the wriggling baby and wondering what on earth she wanted. Glancing at his clock on the wall, Techno’s eye twitched when he realised it was less than two hours since he’d sat down to relax, and therefore even less time sleeping. Sighing, Techno carefully reached down and scooped the baby into his arms, seemingly to jolt her from her tantrum if the surprised hitch in her screaming was any indication. However, it didn’t halt the noise for long, and soon Techno was pottering around his cave-base in the dark, barely able to see, in order to locate the leftover milk he’d gathered. Shoving one of the bottles in the furnace and lighting it, Techno winced as the glow burst to life, almost blinding him at the sudden change.

Unfortunately, as Techno tried to feed the now-warm milk to the baby, he quickly worked out that it wasn’t what she wanted. Instead, the wailing had reached a fever pitch, her tiny head twisting in every direction in a valiant effort to ignore the bottle entirely, and Techno almost growled when the pounding behind his eyes doubled intensity. That was when the smell hit. Techno groaned, glaring down at the crying baby when he detected it. “You have got to be kidding me.”

An hour later, after the baby had been changed using an old, worn top of Techno’s that he’d ripped into pieces, and fed, Techno laid her back down on his bed and slumped heavily into his chair. His mind was running a mile a minute, and for once it wasn’t chat’s fault. Hearing the baby continue to fuss, Techno didn’t even bother to sigh anymore and instead peered over. Immediately, his eyes went wide, as the baby was reaching for him . Her big, golden eyes were near cresting with tears, and pathetic little sniffles and whimpers highlighted her distress even as she continued to try and drag herself closer to him. Techno hardened his heart and looked away, ignoring her, but the moment the wailing started again, the man caved. Growling as his migraine flew right back in, Techno swept the baby into his arms… and froze. Because she was giggling . His annoyance and borderline aggression didn’t scare her; no, she was laughing at it . Startled and more than a little perplexed at the fearless reaction, Techno just watched the child for several moments as she settled in his arms with a sigh of happiness. And as a tiny little smile lit up the baby’s face, echoed by a crescendo of ‘aww’ s from Chat, Techno just… gave in.

“Fine fine, you demanding baby.” Techno grumbled before carefully shuffling himself onto the bed. Staring at the ceiling, feeling the fluttering heartbeat of the baby sleeping on his chest, Techno wondered, not for the first time, how he got into situations like this.

He was sure it was all Dream’s fault, no matter what.

Dream twitched a small grin behind his mask, holding his communicator up to his masked-face. “Hey, so you’ll take her?” A deep, rich baritone voice answered, crackling with the static of the communicator but still legible and recognisable.
“Yeah yeah, of course. You sure I won’t get eviscerated for this?” Dream grinned.
“Of course not! I’ll stop him if it gets to that. Although I’m pretty sure it won’t even come to the point of me stepping off-world with her.”
“Well, you know him better than me, I guess.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it will work out.”
"If you’re sure. Well, goodbye Dream.”
“See ya’!”

Chapter Text

The next morning, Techno found himself staring down at the swaddled baby giggling on his bed, a frown on his face. He’d quickly realised when he’d woken to a little baby screaming in his face, that he was wholly unequipped to deal with a small child. Of course, he’d known that problem from the moment Dream had launched himself through the water spout; had known from the moment the horror dropped into his stomach at the knowledge he was responsible for a small, defenceless child. However, as he’d been left with no choice, he’d decided to just… deal with it. He didn’t think he’d been doing too badly before then either (he resolutely ignored Chat, who had started hooting mockingly when he’d thought that). It was easy to at least feed the child, and while he was running out of old clothes to form makeshift nappies with, it was working. That was when he realised he’d forgotten one tiny, little crucial detail.

The baby had no clothes.

The blanket she’d been wrapped in was clearly fraying at the seams, and when Techno had picked her up earlier that morning, he’d noticed quickly that it felt far too thin to be at all protecting her properly from the chill in his base. Grimacing at not noticing sooner, he’d quickly swaddled her in one of his spare cloaks which he knew was of good enough quality to keep her happy and warm. But that led to the next problem - he’d need that cloak at some point. He went through cloaks faster than one might expect from a man who wore them constantly, and while Techno loved his cloaks, he could admit that in a fight, they weren’t the most practical. Even against the elements, they got torn regularly. Plus, the child couldn’t just stay in that cloak the entire time; he might not want to look after her (Techno swallowed the sinking feeling rising from his stomach at that thought), but even he had to admit that she needed actual clothes. So that led to his current predicament; staring at the small girl on the bed and weighing the pros and cons of bringing her with him on his trek to a previously-discovered nearby village. 

Techno furrowed his brows as he thought, trying to ignore the rowdy voices in his head that were trying their best to act like the most incompetant devils-on-his-shoulder that he’d ever heard.

“Bring her!
Leave her here!
She’ll get in the way.
Useless baby.
Cuddles!
Slownoblade with the baby.
Kill the baby!
Maybe she’ll roll off the bed?
Bring the baby!”

Techno closed his eyes briefly to try and shut out the growing headache, but a high pitched squeal had him snapping them open a moment later. Glancing down in alarm, Techno lurched forward and managed to snag the back of the cloak the baby was wrapped in, narrowly saving her from landing head-first on the very hard, very immovable stone floor of his base. Sighing in relief, Techno carefully hoisted the child into his arms and settled her more firmly against his chest, his mind made up. Or well, the incident had decided for him. “Hope you enjoy horse rides, kid.” Techno muttered as he headed towards the newly-uncovered staircase, using his single free arm to grab his current cloak on the way out.

Techno sighed in relief as the village he’d been travelling to finally came into view. It was a small place nestled between two wooded hills and settled along the banks of a lazily flowing river. He’d been there several times before, enough to be considered a tentative friend to the residents, and therefore he knew the prices there would be much better than anywhere else. Not that he needed to be careful with his rather large stash of emeralds but… discounts always helped.

Thankfully, Techno had managed to slip from his base unseen using the previously-dug staircase, the small baby dozing in his arms. He’d saddled Carl as quickly as he could before taking off into the woods, desperate to get away from any previously known land before someone potentially spotted them both. While Dream’s lands were well documented, these maps were only really available to Dream himself; he left the players to explore on their own. It was how their tiny area of the world had remained so isolated - no-one else knew where they were. Plus, Techno was pretty sure that Dream wanted to keep all the invited, off-world-born residents in one spot to monitor them, which made a lot of sense. The rest of the people in his world were those who had lived there their entire lives and had no intention of stirring the pot. It was smart to keep all the potentially problematic people in one area to try and mitigate any issues before they cropped up. Techno shook his head with a huff of ironic amusement; ‘Look how well that turned out, with his world now on the brink of civil war.’

Despite most people having limited knowledge of the world and very little desire to explore past their settled lands, Techno was never one to work with incomplete knowledge if he could help it. He’d spent his first week on the server simply exploring unhindered, wandering through the fields and caves alike and drafting his own map of the world. Of course, he knew it was nowhere near complete, but it was a damn sight better than the ones that Wilbur had haphazardly thrown at him when he’d first turned up, which covered nothing but L’Manburg (‘Or Manberg now’, Techno mused), the Greater Esempii lands, and a little bit of the surrounding countryside. It didn’t even span to where Pogtopia had been established and only just included Spawn, which was squashed onto the very edge of it. That had made Techno glare at it in disbelief when he’d first seen the document.

That was how Techno had stumbled across that particular village. He’d been travelling for a few days beforehand, doing a circular sweep of the area surrounding the immediate Esempii lands (or at least the ones where the off-world inhabitants, like himself, lived) when he’d spotted the rising smoke from the crest of a nearby hill. He’d managed to convince the villagers to allow him to spend the night in their local inn, and after that he’d been returning frequently to trade with them. He’d discreetly asked around, trying to discover if the village had been found before, but he’d doubted it. Most people in Manberg and the Greater Esempii would’ve been more likely to plunder the village than work with them. The villagers, once they realised Techno was not there to slaughter them all, despite his intimidating stature, had confirmed that he was the first warrior to visit them from that direction. Techno had warned them away from going there, and thankfully it seemed they took him seriously, as no curious adventurers had made it to the Greater Esempii and the village was still standing.

Dismounting Carl with ease despite the bundle in his arms, Techno left his loyal horse grazing at the edge of the river as he headed into the village. Most of the villagers barely gave him a cursory glance before going back to their jobs, already accustomed to his presence. The cloak bundled in his arms drew a few curious stares, but Techno had purposely swaddled the child up so that she wasn’t at all visible. He thought it was better to be safe than sorry. 

It didn’t take Techno long to reach the singular fabric store from the village, as the path there was familiar to him by now. Stepping inside, Techno gently rubbed a finger over the child’s head as she squeaked in shock at the ringing bell. Techno scanned the store as the girl in his arms settled down, a small hand gripping his fingers. He quickly spotted a young woman bent over the counter, absently flipping through a book resting on said counter, but she quickly looked up when he approached. Her hazel eyes flooded with recognition, a warm smile curling her lips, and she pushed her curtain of curly, coffee-brown hair away from her face as Techno nodded in greeting.

“Welcome back, Mr. Blade! What can I get you today?” The woman flipped her book shut, straightening up, and that coincidentally gave her the perfect view of the small child in Techno’s arms. Eyes widening in shock, the woman failed to hold in her instinctual coo, making Techno wince at the pitch. “They're so cute! You never mentioned a child before! How old are they?” The woman spat rapid-fire questions at Techno while leaning over the counter to get a better look, and Techno had to fight down the urge to take several steps backwards.
“I need some more of the usual fabrics I order. Same colours and quality. Plus a few sheets of a softer fabric, preferably fleece; the colour doesn’t matter.” The woman pouted slightly at the non answer.
“I take it they’re for clothes for the little one?” She probed, and Techno internalised his sigh.
“Yeah.” The woman nodded with a smile before flouncing off through a door to the back of the shop, where she kept all of her best materials. Only a fool kept their most expensive wares on displays where they could easily be swiped, and therefore only fools bought them without asking to see those behind the counter. Techno was no fool.

Techno placed a handful of emeralds down on the counter before accepting the offered bag of materials from the woman. He waited in silence as she counted her payment, before nodding in satisfaction. “Well, that’s it! Good luck with your tailoring!” Techno nodded, but paused just as he took a step towards the door. “Oh, what’s their name?” The woman called back, and Techno froze. His mind raced for an answer, Chat in his head not helping matters, until his eye was caught by a patterned fabric by the front door. It was a light blue, strikingly similar to his Antarctic Empire colours, and covered with small little silver crowns and snowflakes. Glancing down at the little girl in his arms, Techno almost startled to see her wide golden eyes peering back up at him, and with a small giggle, she latched her hands into the front of his blouse. 

Marching to the fabric, Techno swiped it from the stand and moved everything into one arm in order to throw a couple of emeralds at the woman. She stumbled, managing to catch them with a yelp, and Techno smirked. However, her previous question was not forgotten, and as Techno laid the fabric around the child, a single name popped into his head. “Arielle.” Techno whispered. The lady made an inquiring noise, and Techno repeated it. “Arielle. Her name’s Arielle.” The woman scrutinised him for a few moments, before smiling softly. Her expression was knowing, and Techno couldn’t help but tense at the way she seemed to see right through him. “What a lovely name. Bring her again next time, Mr. Blade. I’d love to see little Arielle again!” The woman called, and Techno wasted no time in making his way swiftly from the shop. 

Wandering down the village’s main street towards where he could just see Carl waiting for them, Techno couldn’t help but watch the child in his arms. He saw how she was surveying the world with curious golden eyes, a spark of intelligence in them that made a warm feeling of what felt suspiciously like pride bloom in Techno’s chest. Before he knew it, a small smile crept onto Techno’s face, so unlike the harsh smirks he was used to. It felt almost foreign on his face and Techno schooled his expression the moment he realised what he was doing. However, the thoughts that caused it remained. “Arielle…” He murmured. “Hmm. You’re not so bad, I guess. Looking after you for a few days will be easier than I thought.” He mused. 

He ignored the way his stomach twisted at the reminder of giving the child- Arielle away, and squashed the thoughts that wondered for the first time, if he even wanted to anymore.

Chapter Text

Techno sighed in exasperation as he paused in his tailoring, peering at the little girl who’d managed to tangle herself in his old cloaks on the floor. He’d laid down said cloak for Arielle to play on, as it was far too ripped to be worn again and it worked well as protection against the harsh stone floor. She’d been rolling and occasionally crawling around for the last hour, squealing in delight with a giant beaming grin on her face, and Techno had surprised himself with the fact that it didn’t really bother him. Sure, it was pretty loud, and the shrieks bounced around his barren base to cause some horrible screeching echoes, but seeing the joyful smile on Arielle’s face kept his patience in check. He wasn’t about to stop her fun only for her to start bothering him, or worse, start crying. If it kept her occupied so he could finish his work in peace, then Techno was not going to complain. 

Quirking his lips in amusement, Techno laid his work to the side and heaved himself from his chair. Arielle babbled at him, scrunching her face into a pout of frustration as she tugged fruitlessly at the cloak entrapping her. “Yeah yeah, I’m coming, Arielle. Calm down.” Techno grumbled half-heartedly. Crouching in front of the little girl, Techno gently rolled her over, causing her to squeal in delight. Techno couldn’t help but chuckle as the cloak unravelled from around her, causing Arielle to giggle and clap her hands together. Techno took a few moments to check the stitching on the first set of clothes he’d managed to wrestle her into - a simple white, cotton shirt and dark grey trousers - before nodding in satisfaction. Straightening with a grunt, Techno padded back over to his chair, not noticing the curious and considering eyes staring at his back. He’d just sat back down when a childish grunt of determination set off every single warning instinct he’d learnt over the last two days of caring for the child. Snapping his gaze over to Arielle, ready for if she’d somehow managed to get herself into a dangerous situation in the last ten seconds, Techno froze. His breath caught in his lungs, eyes wide in stupefaction, as he watched the little girl wobbly stand up.

Techno could do nothing but stare with shocked eyes as Arielle swayed on her feet, little arms stretched wide and a look of pure concentration on her face. Her eyes were locked on her feet, as if she could will them to carry her perfectly the first time, and Techno didn’t even notice the awed grin that crept onto his face. Easing himself onto the floor, Techno crossed his legs and held out his arms, trying to remember what his father had done when trying to encourage Tommy to walk for the first time. “C’mere Arielle. You can do it.” Techno called, voice gruff but laced with affection that slipped through the cracks in Techno’s self-control. Arielle perked up at that, tripping forward a few steps with a yelp. Techno nearly choked as the thought of her falling over and smashing her head into the ground stole the breath from his chest. However, he forced himself to stay still and watch as the little girl righted herself and stumbled towards him. 

Then, just as she managed to get within Techno’s reaching distance, Arielle’s little legs finally gave up and she toppled forward with a squeak of alarm. Snaking his arms forward, Techno easily caught the child and settled her quickly into his lap. Arielle peered up at him with a giant grin on her face, babbling happily, and Techno didn’t even bother to remove the proud little smile on his face. “Well done, Arielle. You did good.” Techno murmured as Arielle shrieked in delight in his arms. 

Unfortunately, the happy moment wasn’t to last forever, as at that moment, Techno’s keen ears picked up the splash of something far too heavy to be a fish entering the lake above his base. Shooting to his feet, Techno gently shushed Arielle’s questioning hum as he darted into the second room. Unclipping his cloak from his shoulders, Techno wrapped it hurriedly around Arielle before carefully shoving her behind one of his chests. “Stay here Arielle, okay? Don’t come out until I get you.” Techno whispered seriously, and he assumed that she understood if the wide-eyed, slightly terrified look she gave him was any indication. Sweeping back into the main room and praying that Arielle stayed put, Techno grabbed his sword and turned to face the tunnel that dropped into his base just as a familiar form splashed down it. 

“Heeey, Techno! I’m back!” Dream called out, the smirk audible in his voice, and Techno sighed. He lowered the sword, the tension draining from his shoulders as Dream sauntered towards him. “Next time, give me a warning Dream.” Techno ground out, tossing his sword carelessly onto his bed. Dream just chuckled, not at all shamed by the mild panic he knew he’d caused. “What are you doing here anyway, Dream? Come for a visit?” Techno grouched. Dream paused, tilting his head in confusion. “You don’t remember?” Techno frowned.
“Remember what?” 
“I’m picking up the baby today! To get her out of your hair. I’ve found a person who’d be willing to take her in!” Dream explained, tucking one foot behind the other and watching for Techno’s reaction. And what a reaction it was.

Techno froze, his brain racing back to the conversation that seemed so ridiculously long ago and yet actually only happened two days prior. “Oh… yeah, of course.” Techno mumbled, trying to ignore the sudden sinking feeling of despair in his chest.
“So… where is she?” Dream asked, and Techno scowled.
“Give me a moment, Dream, jeez. Impatient much.” Techno growled out stalking into the back room to fetch Arielle. Dream just watched him go, a small knowing smirk on his face and unbothered by the sudden hostility. 

Techno huffed out an explosive sigh as he wandered over to Arielle, trying to clear his expression so he didn’t frighten the girl. “Arielle? It’s okay now, you can come out.” Techno called, and was rewarded a few moments later with a small, terrified child crawling out from behind a chest, red cloak still partially wrapped around her shoulders. Walking over, Techno gently scooped the child off of the floor, letting the cloak slip completely from her, and Arielle immediately latched onto Techno’s shirt and buried her face in his chest. Techno just stood there for a few moments, wrestling with his emotions, before locking down his heart. ‘She’s better off with someone who’s not me.’ Techno thought, ignoring the way Chat was practically screeching accusations of betrayal at him.

“Noooo!
Keep her!
Don’t give her away!
Keep the baby!
She’s your daughter. She’s yours. Keep her!”

The last one caused Techno to nearly stutter to a halt, but he instead just pushed past it. Re-entering the room with Dream, Techno wandered over to him and tried to keep his arms from tightening possessively around the small child clinging to his chest. 

“Aww, look at her. Hey there!” Dream bent over to be at eye-level with the child and cooed, causing Arielle to shyly peek out at him. Dream waved at her, but she frowned. Babbling with a tilt of her head, Arielle reached out to tap on Dream’s mask causing him to jolt back with a squeak. Techno smirked at the flustered man and pretended not to see when Dream flipped him off, thankfully out of sight of Arielle. 

“Well then, I’ll be taking her now. I’ve got to give her to her new dad off-world in around half an hour.” Dream said, reaching towards the child. Arielle seemed to shrink back into Techno’s chest, but the man ignored it and passed her to Dream and ignored the way his hands shook when she left them-. Dream grinned down at the child, not that she could see it behind his mask, but Arielle only peered up at him passively. Slightly cowed by the child’s almost emotionless stare, Dream’s shoulders dropped slightly. He cast a quick glance at Techno and almost did a double take. He didn’t think Techno was doing it consciously, but the way his mouth was tilted into such a sad, subtle frown almost made Dream want to shove Arielle back at him already. However, he knew that it wouldn’t help. Dream needed to wait for Techno to take her back himself, and if he didn't… Well, he wasn’t lying when he said someone else would take her in. He just hoped he wouldn’t need to meet them.

“Right, off we go then! Bye Tech!” Dream called out, slowly making his way towards the staircase that Techno hadn’t bothered to seal up his side. He’d only more carefully hidden the top entrance so that it couldn’t be so easily found. Techno watched as the man walked away, Arielle peering back at him over his shoulder. It took a few seconds, but Techno easily noticed the exact moment Arielle realised he wasn’t coming with them, as a look of absolute panic dropped onto her face. Immediately, she started wailing, causing Dream to jump and rub his ear with a wince. The little girl squirmed and cried, reaching towards a wide-eyed Techno who stood frozen, not entirely focussed anymore on the scene in front of him. Instead, Techno was battling with his emotions, trying to rationalise that she’d calm down eventually and forget all about him. He tried to force himself to turn away, but his body stopped obeying him, and Chat screaming in his head, hitting decibels he didn’t even know was possible, was not helping. 

“TECH!” Arielle shrieked, and the sudden word caused even Dream to freeze in shock. Techno was immediately dragged back into reality, still watching as Arielle tried her best to wiggle from Dream’s ironclad grip. “What…” Techno whispered, completely stumped.
“TECH!” Arielle cried, golden eyes swimming with tears. It was not this that finally broke Techno though. No, it was the absolute shining trust and love in the little girl’s eyes that had him darting forward to all but rip her from Dream’s grip, causing the man to stumble with a curse. Techno immediately folded Arielle into his chest, letting her cling onto his shirt and cry. He whispered calming words into her ears, chin resting delicately on the top of her head, and the pair all but forgot about Dream in the background.

Dream watched the scene with a smile of satisfaction on his face, leaning against the chests on the wall closest to him and staying silent as to not interrupt. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for Arielle to calm down now that she was back in her father’s arms, and Dream had no doubt that Techno wouldn’t be letting her leave them any time soon. “So… you’re keeping her then?” Dream piped up, causing Techno to level him with a flat look. 
“There was no way I was letting you take her in that state, Dream. But I don’t…” Techno cut himself off with a grimace, and Dream just knew he was trying to find a way to hide his feelings behind callous words and careless gestures. Dream knew Techno enough that the man hated showing any sort of vulnerability, and the entire situation just reeked of it.

“I- I’ll call you when she’s ready to go with you, Dream. Might be a little while though.” Techno eventually said, and Dream smirked behind his mask. ‘Checkmate.’ “Of course! Let me know whenever. Wouldn’t want her to get upset after all.” Dream grinned, but didn’t call Techno out. He knew as well as Techno did that Dream would never be getting that call, but the green-clad man let Techno keep his dignity… this time. Well, he could have a little fun in the meantime… “Have you named her yet?” Dream almost sang, and had to bite back and laugh when Techno sent him a scathing look at his tone. However, Dream couldn’t help but let his smirk drift into a more contented smile at the soft expression Techno shot the little girl in his arms before he answered. “Arielle. That’s her name.” Dream hummed.
“‘Lion of God’, huh? Nice name.” Dream nodded approvingly. The silence sat for one, two beats before Dream jerked to his feet, causing Arielle to jolt. She twisted in Techno’s arms to shoot Dream the most poisonous look he’d ever seen from a baby, and the green-clad man couldn’t help but falter at it’s intensity. Shaking his head, Dream turned towards the water spout and pretended not to see the prideful smirk Techno shot at him, having obviously noticed the interaction.

“Well then, I must be off! Things to do, bugs to fix, an’ all that jazz.” Dream called out, walking towards the water spout. He sent an absent wave back at Techno when he saw him off, before hopping in the water and letting it whisk him away. 

A few minutes later, just as Dream deemed himself far enough away from Pogtopian lands to safely make the call, Dream pulled out his communicator and clicked on his contact with a content grin on his face.

“Hey Dream. So I guess your little plan worked then?” Dream chucked.
“Yep! Just as I planned. Didn’t even leave his base before Arielle was screaming her head off and he snatched her right out of my arms.” The voice on the other end laughed.
“And he named her. Guess I don’t have to worry about baby-proofing my home anymore. I was kind of looking forward to it though. Ianite was getting excited at least.” Dream winced and sent a prayer to the man for having to deal with his disappointed god when he broke the news.
“Ah well… I’m sure you’ll survive.” The man on the other end snorted, but didn’t refute it. “Well, thanks for going along with this little scheme! I’ll probably not have to call you again but you never know.”
“Yeah, no problem. If something happens and you need me to take the kid in at any time, just call. She’d be welcome here.” Dream’s expression softened slightly into a more genuine smile. 
“Thanks Cap, see you.”
“Bye Dream.”

Click.

Dream pocketed his communicator and hummed to himself as he meandered home, his mind firmly stuck on wondering about the shockwaves Arielle’s appearance would no doubt cause on his server. “Well, if she causes any problems, it’ll be on Techno’s head anyway.” Dream mused to himself. “Plus… she is kinda cute.” Dream muttered, before shaking the thought off and disappearing into the trees.

Chapter Text

Techno gasped awake, fingers curling into the mattress below him as his head continued to scream. Tubbo’s horrified and betrayed face flashed in his vision; the sick scent of burning flesh filling his nose, and Techno jolted upright in an effort to breathe without throwing up. Shaking off the after-effects of the nightmare, Techno took a few moments to calm down before he realised that the screaming was not actually in his head. Groaning when Arielle’s shrill wails made his thumping headache worsen, Techno swung from the bed and squinted into the gloom of his underwater base. Staggering to his feet, Techno trudged over to the other side of the room where a much smaller bed had been cocooned within a ring of chests in order to prevent its occupant from rolling right off. Said occupant was a small, writhing child and Techno grunted as he reached down to scoop her into his arms. Almost immediately, she began to settle down, although was still hiccuping, and Techno took to wandering the room to try and get the little girl to fall back asleep. “Tech, Tech…” Arielle repeated in between babbles, and Techno couldn’t help but smile down at her. 
“Yeah I’m here, go back to sleep kid.” Techno murmured quietly, watching as the small child’s eyelids fluttered as sleep began to reclaim her.

It had been a whole month since the responsibility of the child had been thrust upon Techno, and despite having accepted his role in raising Arielle, the man’s patience only continued to dwindle. Most nights she had awoken him, sometimes more than once, and the lack of sleep was finally getting to him. Even Chat was growing impatient, as Techno had been stuck in his underground bunker for so long he was beginning to lose track of the time. He was just thankful that he’d given Pogtopia the impression of being a loner, and so they didn’t bother to try and check up on him at all. The callousness cut into his heart, especially from his brothers, who’d clearly seen his loner nature as a slight against them, despite having literally grown up with him and so should’ve known better. However, he pushed the hurt down, as for once, it actually helped him. It was probably the only reason he’d been left alone for so long, after all. Plus he had bigger problems to worry about than the crumbling of two thirds of his family relationships.

In the weeks after Dream had left his base, Arielle still sniffling in Techno’s arms, the warrior had experienced a curious and completely uncontrollable shift in attitude. Suddenly, he was terrified to leave the tiny cavern at all for fear of the child somehow managing to harm herself on one of the many dangerous ornaments Techno had collected. He was even hesitant to bring her outside again, as now that the truth of her staying for good had sunk in, Techno didn’t want to risk her being discovered. He had no doubt that if anyone spotted her, news of her existence would spread through the server like a wildfire and her safety would no longer be guaranteed. At that thought, Techno couldn’t help but growl, blood-red eyes narrowed to pin-pricks. A small sleepy, piglin sniffle was his answer, snapping him from his haze, and Techno returned his attention to Arielle. She gazed drowsily back back up at him, fingers once again clenched in his sleep shirt, and Techno rubbed a gentle hand over her head to try and ease her back to sleep. 

Techno desperately wanted to keep Arielle a secret, and against his own nature, he was even hesitant to let his family learn of her. Previously, Techno would have snorted incredulously at the claim that Wilbur, who’d loved Tommy possibly even more than himself and their father, would ever hurt a small child, especially a member of his family. However, Techno could no longer say that for certain, and Wilbur always did have a somewhat ruthless mind; he probably wouldn’t hesitate to use the child against him in his current unstable mental state. Techno would have sneakily introduced Arielle to Tommy, swearing him to secrecy, but the blonde was so cowed by Wilbur and blind in his loyalty that he wouldn’t -couldn’t speak against him. He also wouldn’t hesitate to tell Wilbur about the small, defenseless child Techno was trying to raise, since he wouldn’t even dream of Wilbur having the potential to hurt her. It was a problem Techno wasn’t entirely sure how to tackle, since Tommy still trusted Wilbur implicitly and so anything Techno tried to tell him, especially after nearly killing Tubbo, would be discarded immediately. 

In addition, the only reason he’d realised how poisonous Tommy’s relationship with Wilbur had gotten, was because he’d had little to do but just sit and think while looking after Arielle. He’d had so much free time that he’d found himself going over all of the interactions he’d seen between his brothers since he’d entered Dream’s world. After that, all the little niggling red flags he’d either ignored or completely missed before had added up, painting a concerning picture. Not only that, but several of his own actions made him wince when he thought back on them, not that he would admit it to anyone, and one of his worst was the fight he’d allowed himself to be goaded into with Tommy after the festival.

Techno frowned at the reminder of that damned festival, and was just glad that he’d managed to wrangle Chat under his control and move the crossbow slightly lower and off to the side to avoid killing Tubbo immediately. He’d instantly glimpsed the gleaming sword hidden behind Schlatt’s back the moment he’d stepped onto the podium, and it had placed him in one of the worst positions he’d ever experienced. His only choices were to shoot Tubbo, making himself out to be a traitor to Pogtopia, or refuse and get Tubbo killed by Schlatt anyway. At least he knew if he shot, he could ensure it wouldn’t be a killing blow, and since he knew Tommy and Wilbur were nearby, they could help rush Tubbo to Pogtopia in time to save his life. If he’d refused, Schlatt could have just executed Tubbo then and there with his sword, and while Techno was confident in his skills, he wasn't certain that he would have been able to completely circumvent the blow. Quackity could have easily acted as Schlatt’s backup to delay Techno’s rescue attempt, therefore resulting in Tubbo’s death and himself most likely injured. It had been an all around terrible day, but Techno had done what he had to do to ensure they’d all made it out alive that day, and if that meant he’d lost all of their trust? Well, he’d do it again.

However, all that didn’t change the fact that the majority of the server probably saw him as an attempted child murderer at the moment, if not just a simple savage, and so he had very few options when it came to keeping Arielle safe. Most would be more than willing to take Arielle away from him without a second thought, some probably out of some warped sense of worry for the child. However, he didn’t try to delude himself into thinking a large majority of them wouldn’t also probably just use her as a bargaining chip against him. Getting a hold of one of The Blade ’s only weaknesses? They’d jump at the chance. There was only one person who Techno could tentatively trust to not use the child against him at that point, seeing as he already knew about her and hadn’t made any threatening moves yet, and that was Dream. 

Techno was not ignorant; he knew the feeling of a divine vow, and also knew the very messy consequences if one was broken. He knew Dream had shackled himself with the promise he’d made to keep the child’s identity and existence a secret, and so Techno decided he could somewhat trust the green-clad man in matters regarding her. At the very least, she was the only link to the potential breach from her mother into the Greater Esempii lands, which were supposed to be hidden from the other inhabitants of the world for their safety. Dream was nothing if not thorough; he wouldn’t touch the baby until the leak was identified and patched, even if he’d assured Techno that the issue probably wasn’t something to worry about all that much. Techno didn’t think that Dream would go so far as to harm a small defenceless child anyway, and could tentatively assume that he probably knew Dream well enough to say that hurting Arielle would be crossing even his rather skewed moral line. But even then, Dream wouldn’t even think about harming Arielle until he’d gone through every potential avenue to discover how her mother had gotten so close to the center lands. Techno still remembered the hushed conversation the two men had shared a few weeks ago, only a week after Techno had snatched Arielle back from Dream and swore to himself that he wouldn’t let her go again. It had been enlightening for Techno, and cleared up several ancient questions about how worlds functioned that he didn’t even realise he had until they were answered.

“Techno, come and look at this for a moment.” Techno perked up from where he’d been sitting, unconsciously monitoring the small child asleep on his bed with a book all but forgotten on a small table to his left. Wincing as his stiff joints cracked, Techno stood and made his way over to his rival, who was hunched over a very large map laying on top of a bunch of chests that had been shoved together to form a makeshift table. “What is it?” Techno questioned, also taking a look at the map. He immediately recognised it to be a map of the server, since some areas matched the vague outlines he’d gotten from Wilbur’s map, as well as his more expansive private map. However, Dream’s map was much larger than anything he’d seen before, and it covered such a huge area that the Greater Esempii lands and Manberg seemed like tiny dots in comparison. In addition, the map seemed to be buzzing with energy despite the parchment itself outwardly looking normal, and while a large swathe of the map was circled in a glowing green green hue, a larger area around the outside of that was surrounded in red. 

“This is my server map. The green area-” Dream pointed to the land in question. “-is my world, although the boundaries on this map are probably a little outdated by this point. Anyway, everything outside of this green zone are different worlds that are close enough to nudge up against my own.” Techno nodded his understanding, and Dream continued. “Well recently I’ve been feeling a bit of a… power imbalance, I guess you could put it.” Techno frowned, Dream tapping his mask in what was clearly an unconscious action.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Techno drawled, but the nervousness was clear for Dream to notice. The God (since Techno knew no mere Admin would have been granted the power and understanding of a world that Dream had) shook his head. “Nah, it’s not a bad thing. It's actually pretty good. It means my influence is expanding. See this red area?” Dream gestures and Techno nods. “Well, the area outside the green, so this red section, is basically known as the ‘rogue-zone’. It's a place between worlds that people can live in, like joining land between different Gods’ worlds, but it never changes. There’s no leader; no Admin or God and so the place is stagnant. Ever seen areas which seem a lot less developed than ours? Like their oceans are empty, or their nethers are barren? That’s the rogue-zone.” Dream explained, and Techno assimilated the information quickly. The pieces were beginning to come together, and what Dream said did clear up a few niggling queries he’d had before. 

“So… It’s like unclaimed land?” Techno asked, and Dream nodded.
“Exactly. My influence grows as my world does, and so when my power grows my world just… claims some of the rogue zone, updates it, and adds the land, residents, and power to itself. It’s how I’ve had older residents living in my world since the beginning, despite the world only being around a few years old. A new world, when it comes into being, takes over a section of the rogue-zone and changes it to match the will of its God. Everything inside of it is either assimilated into the world, or gently shoved out into the surrounding rogue-zone. Worlds like Hypixel shoved everything out, razed the place to the ground, and then re-built it from scratch, which explains why it looks so completely different from a regular world. I decided to keep everything, including prior residents and just… fix things up a little. 

And every now and then, as my power grows, so do the barriers of my world. There’s an… expanding period, I guess you could call it. This is when the barriers between a God’s world and the rogue zone become weak and pliable, and expand to encompass more of the rogue-zone. After a few days, the barrier settles again, but before that point, free-movement into and out of the world is basically almost unnoticeable, untraceable and uncontrollable. It’s an absolute pain for the Gods since it bypasses whitelists as well, so most lock their worlds into one size. However, Admin-formed worlds just don’t need to worry about that at all, because they literally can’t grow; non-Godly players don’t have the energy to support it. But because I’m younger than most Gods and my power is still growing so rapidly, I can’t afford to lock my world’s size; it’d probably explode with excess energy, taking me and everything on it with it. Usually, gods don’t even try to make a world until at least their first millenia, and by that point their power has settled to support either a gradual growth, or locking it to one size. I’m a bit of an outlier in that regard.” Dream paused for a moment, seemingly trying to formulate the right words, and Techno couldn’t help the small curl of anxiety in his chest. His mind raced through all the possible reasons for Dream deciding that it was necessary to basically dump all that probably-highly-classified information onto him at once, and all the conclusions he reached weren’t exactly… positive.

“Techno… the mother of the girl… she lived in a town just on the edge of the green and red zones.” Techno froze. “It was being claimed around this time two years ago, which means the barrier was being formed but hadn’t solidified yet. Meaning you could easily have… crossed over and then left again, without ever noticing you’d crossed a world border. And because the border was so pliable, I couldn’t have tracked any movement across it, so I wouldn’t have noticed you entering and then leaving.” Dream spoke almost hesitantly, recognising the delicate nature of the conversation he’d brought up.
“So-” Techno cleared his throat as his first attempt came out choked. “So, my- Arielle and her mother lived here the entire time? There was no breach?” Dream nodded, noticing that subtle change of subject but allowing Techno to steer the conversation anyway.
“Yep, as far as I can tell. In regards to your daughter, and her mother, they were always on this server. Or at least, the former was conceived here. I can’t exactly tell if they went anywhere else while my world was expanding, but they at least were recognised as part of my world since I didn’t feel any foreign attempts at entry before you called me. I would have felt something if the mother and Arielle hadn’t been registered already as residents of my world. 

It’s a bit worrying how the mother managed to get so close to L’Manberg though. I usually monitor this area closely to check for issues and keep it hidden and locked away from the rest of the world, since it's the most updated area, usually has the most bugs, and all the off-world residents stay here. It's something I’ll still need to look into, though hopefully it won’t be a problem.” Techno nodded, still trying to wrap his head around his sudden fatherhood.
“Right, right… that’s- that’s good.” Dream hummed in agreement before steering the conversation to lighter, less volatile topics.

Techno was jolted from his musing when his communicator began to ring loudly, startling Arielle who’d just managed to start dozing in his arms again. Thankfully, Techno managed to avert another meltdown by quickly answering the call, quietly rocking the little girl in his arms at the same time. “What?” Techno all but barked into the communicator, although making sure to keep his volume down. 
“Well hello to you too.” A very familiar voice snarked back, and Techno huffed.
“What do you want, Wilbur?” There was a slight, manic giggle from the other end that sent chills down Techno’s spine.
“What, can’t a big brother check up on his little brother?” Wilbur all but purred down the com.
“ Wilbur.” Techno growled, causing said man to sigh.
“Fine, fine. Where the hell have you been? Nobody has seen you in a month, Techno! A month! We know you like to keep to yourself; learnt that a long time ago-” Techno winced and had to make a conscious effort not to grind his teeth. “-but this is ridiculous.” Techno sighed - it felt like that was all he was doing nowadays.

“I’m just exploring, Wilbur. You know, scouting for the enemy. Probing for weaknesses.” Techno replied, but knew that even to his own ears, the excuse sounded weak. Wilbur clearly thought so too, if the scoff from the communicator was anything to go by. “Well, once you’re done exploring, you can haul arse back to base. Preferably in the morning.” Frowning, Techno was about to speak up and give him a small lie to cover up Arielle’s existence and explain why that wouldn’t be possible, but was cut off before he could. “After all, we wouldn’t want to think that you were consorting with the enemy, now would we, Blade?” The threat in those words, poorly hidden under barely-controlled mania caused Techno to swallow his words and remain silent. The com clicked off a moment later and Techno slowly lowered his arm, placing the metal contraption onto a nearby chest with a quiet clink. 

That conversation had just confirmed all of the suspicions Techno had tried to tell himself were results of his own paranoid mind; not even his family was safe any longer. Wilbur clearly cared more for his rebellion than he did his own brothers; let alone a niece he’s never met before. No, Techno couldn’t let anyone else know of his charge. Not if he wanted to keep her safe. But that left him with another conundrum; ‘What on earth am I supposed to do with her? I can’t leave her here alone, and I don’t trust anyone else to look after her-’ Techno paused. That wasn’t strictly true; there was only one other person to know of Arielle’s existence, and he’d never made a move to harm her, so maybe…

Techno quickly grabbed his communicator again and scrolled to the top, pressing on his first listed contact. It rang three times before clicking, and Techno wasted no time. “Hey Dream, how’d you fancy babysitting for a day?”

“...What?”

Chapter Text

Dream watched with thinly veiled amusement as Techno rushed around his underwater base like a startled rabbit. Chests were pushed aside and thrown open, a piece of armour grabbed from here, a sword swiped from there. The green-clad man hadn’t ever seen the man so flustered, and evidently his daughter also found the sight similarly hilarious, for she was giggling, tracking her father with bright gold eyes and slapping her little hands together in glee. She was propped up against the wall with a pillow at her back, clapping hysterically and obviously having the time of her life. 

“Techno, chill out. We’ll be fine.” Dream placated. Techno didn’t seem to hear him, still glaring at one of his broken chests like it had personally offended him by falling apart and spilling its contents on the ground. Dream sighed in exasperation and hopped off of the bed, producing another round of admittedly cute squeals of laughter from Arielle. The sound seemed to help, for Techno glanced at Arielle, expression softening a tad while a little of the tension drained from his shoulders. “Techno.” Dream called, a dash of seriousness in his tone, and Techno glowered at him. “We’ll be fine. Go. Before Wilbur starts a manhunt. Don’t give them any reason to suspect.” Dream reasoned, and Techno deflated.
“Fine, fine. Just remember, the fleece for nappies is in the second chest from the right, you need to clean her bottles between each feeding and-”
“Techno, seriously. You told me already, go.” Dream interrupted Techno’s growing tirade, rolling his eyes under his mask and holding in the urge to laugh. Thankfully, the pinkette seemed to get the message, for he finally heaved out a sigh and swiped his cloak from where it was laying over a few chests. Dream scanned the room before darting over when he spotted Techno’s crown on his bed, grabbing it and holding it out in time for Techno spin to face him. Techno took the crown with a nod, before sheathing his sword and settling the golden ornament on his head, easily slotting it into the ridge on his helmet that Dream just knew that Techno had carved specifically for that very purpose. “Right, I’m off. Call the moment something goes wrong.” Techno ordered, and Dream didn’t even think to tease; he just nodded.

Dream waved Techno off as he leapt into the water column, but a cry of despair behind him had the green-clad man whipping around. Arielle was trying to stumble her way to the edge of the bed, large golden eyes staring mournfully at where her father had just disappeared. “Ari- no!” Dream leapt forward as the toddler tumbled off the bed, trying to catch her before she hit the ground. Thankfully, he managed to slide just underneath her, and had the air ripped from his lungs when she landed right on his sternum. As he laid there, stifling his coughs and trying to get his breath back, Dream felt small, shaking hands grip the front of his hoodie, a head pressing into his shoulder and tears soaking into his jumper. Sitting up with a groan, Dream clutched the child to his chest. “You okay, Ari?” Arielle mumbled something intelligible into Dream’s shoulder, but by the lack of pained screaming, Dream assumed she was unharmed; just scared. “This is going to be a long day.” Dream muttered to himself.

Techno slowly wandered down the stairs leading into the Pogtopian ravine, and couldn’t help but feel like he wanted to be anywhere but there. After taking responsibility for Arielle, he’d realised that nothing in Pogtopia was healthy; the entire environment was toxic, and the only thing good about the place was the fact they were trying to take down a dictator. Wilbur was clearly going insane, if he wasn’t already (and Techno thought he hated himself a little for not noticing how bad it had gotten) and Tommy was so trapped by the memories of the old Wilbur that he wouldn’t allow himself to leave the brunet behind. Niki was still furious at him after shooting Tubbo, and hadn’t let him explain his side of the events when he’d tried. And finally, Techno had absolutely no idea how Tubbo felt, as he hadn’t seen him awake since the Festival. He assumed he was alive, since he knew that he would have been contacted far sooner if Tubbo had died from his injuries, the thought of which sent unfamiliar lances of guilt through Techno’s heart. 

The entire place was going to the dogs, but for once, Techno didn’t really care. The Revolution had taken a severe step back the moment he’d snatched Arielle back from Dream all those weeks ago, and he didn’t think it would ever return to its previous importance. All those instincts he’d been pushing back and burying, that screamed at him to keep his sounder close and protected, had burst from their cage and come roaring back. All Techno was determined to do now was keep Arielle, and if possible the rest of his family, alive. Unfortunately, the warrior knew that the best way to do that was to win the Revolution and go on his way, taking Arielle far from them and settling down somewhere remote to raise her safely. Schlatt’s stunning personality was made pretty clear at the festival, and Techno was in no way willing to allow a man like that, nor his followers, anywhere near his very defenceless infant. However, the man knew that his loyalty was slowly but surely shifting away from the rebels and if there ever came a time where Arielle’s life was in danger… Well, Pogtopia probably wouldn’t ever see him again.

“Ah, the Blade had deigned to return to us! About time!” Wilbur’s voice called out from below him, causing Techno to jolt to a stop on the stairs and glance down. He was met by wide, crazed brown eyes and a tattered trench coat hiding what was no-doubt a borderline-emaciated frame. Grimacing slightly, Techno hurried down the rest of the steps and met the man at the bottom, schooling his expression into one of blank neutrality. “Hallo Wilbur.” The brunet just sent him a saccharine smile, but Techno could easily see the poison dripping from those honeyed lips. ‘God, how was this the same man as my brother?’ Techno mused to himself.

“Where have you been, Blade? C’mon, you can tell little ol’ me.” Wilbur trailed off into a conspiratorial whisper. Techno made sure to keep his face blank as he carefully stepped around Wilbur to head deeper into the cursed ravine. “Explorin’, as I said Wilbur. Nothin’ to tell.” Techno didn’t see how Wilbur’s face twisted into a rather terrifying scowl behind his back, but he did feel the displacement of air just behind him in time to swing around and block the blade heading for his back with his own sword. Taking in the figure that had just attacked him, Techno’s eyes widened. He’d assumed it had been Wilbur; had expected it even from the temperamental man, but never did he think it could have been Tommy. But there he was, in all of his blonde raging glory, straining against the strength Techno was putting into his blade and snarling at him like an animal. 

“How dare you come back!” Tommy roared at him, and Techno scowled.
“Oi, blame Wilbur, not me! He’s the one that called me back.” Techno responded, trying to deflect the anger and de-escalate the situation. Just because he was usually up for a good fight didn’t mean he wanted to fight his youngest brother again in anything other than a friendly spar after the shit-show that was The Pit. “Wilbur, what the fuck? ” Tommy quickly disengaged from Techno, the man in question having to quickly pull his sword back lest the momentum cleave Tommy in two. Tommy directed his acid gaze at the brunet instead, leaving Techno to shuffle awkwardly behind the pair. “Oh don’t look at me like that, Tommy! You think you’re enough to take down Schlatt?” Wilbur’s face twisted into a scowl that mirrored the one that was just draining from Tommy’s face, and he took a few looming steps forward, forcing Tommy to stumble back. “You’re weak, Tommy! We need the Blade to do the job you can’t do! Seriously, how childish do you-”

“Wilbur, enough.” Techno boomed, stepping quickly in front of Tommy to shield the now cowering boy from Wilbur’s gaze. The brunet’s face dropped in shock at Technoblade defending Tommy of all people, but his aggressive expression slid right back on a few moments later. “What is this?! Gang up on Wilbur day? Are you all traitors now?” Wilbur asked, letting out an incredulous and slightly manic laugh. Techno’s frown deepened, but he didn’t lower his arm from where it was separating Tommy from Wilbur. The blonde had just started to get his composure back, and Techno almost gritted his teeth at the realisation that this had been happening all along and he had done nothing to stop it before today. “I’m not a traitor, Will, how could you say that?” Tommy called out, voice slightly wobbly but the indignation and honesty shone through. Unfortunately, Wilbur seemingly didn’t get the memo, for he spun on his heel with a huff of outrage before stalking off. “Fine! If you two want to get all buddy-buddy and betray me together, then go for it! I can’t be asked to deal with this today…” Wilbur called as he stomped off into the gloom of the ravine. 

Techno watched him leave until Wilbur disappeared from his view before he relaxed. Sighing, Techno resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as the adrenaline faded. “Why did you do that, Blade!? Seriously, did you come back here just to piss us all off?!” Tommy snarled, and Techno spun to face him, eyes wide with incredulity.

“What- Seriously Tommy, I just stopped Wilbur from ridiculing you and that’s what you say?!” Techno barked out, too shocked to even get angry. Tommy huffed at him before blowing past, shoulder checking Techno as he went, not that it did much. “I didn’t need your help, bitch! And Wilbur doesn’t ridicule me; stop making him look like the bad guy when we all know it’s you!” Tommy roared before stalking off after Wilbur.

Techno just watched his second brother take off in search of the first with wide eyes. Scowling in irritation, Techno pushed down the flare of hurt that arched in his chest and sighed. “Jeez, a thanks would have been nice.” Techno snorted at the thought of Tommy thanking anyone , let alone him after what happened-

“Techno?” A raspy voice echoed from to his left, and Techno pivoted around to face its owner. Wide brown eyes still laced with sleepiness and exhaustion met his gaze, and Techno couldn’t help but let his eyes drift. He winced as he took in the huge, angry starburst scar that covered the left side of the boy’s face and dipped below his shirt’s neckline. There were still a few bandages peeking from his shirt’s sleeves and neckline, concealing the remnants of the no-doubt devastating wound Techno had inflicted, and the man couldn’t help but wonder if he could have done anything better to prevent it. 

“Hey Tubbo.” Techno called nonchalantly, almost carelessly, before he realised that hiding his emotions under his usual mask had probably been a mistake when Tubbo snarled at him.
“Come to see your masterpiece, huh?” The boy growled, and the sheer venom spat at him made Techno take a step back. 
“No- no, Tubbo I-” Techno cut himself off, biting his lip, and the show of nervousness seemed to grind Tubbo to a halt before his tirade could begin. “I- I know this won’t be enough but… let me explain, okay?” Tubbo’s face relaxed slightly, although the angry furrow to his brow remained, but Techno didn’t miss the flicker of hope that burst to life in the teen’s honey-brown eyes. “Why should I-” But Techno cut him off, knowing that if he didn’t finish he never would. 
“I didn’t want to do it. I had no choice.” The moment the words left his mouth, Techno knew he’d made a mistake. Tubbo’s expression closed off so fast that Techno was left wondering if he’d imagined the glint of hope and potential for reconciliation from before. “You always had a choice, Techno. You didn’t have to shoot me! ” Tubbo screamed at him, and Techno only had enough time to see a single tear slip down the boy’s cheek before he was whirling back around and into the room he’d emerged from. 
“Wai- Tubbo, wait-” Techno tried to follow him, but a door slamming shut in his face and almost taking a few of his fingers with it, cut the warrior off. Huffing out a breath of irritation, Techno just stood there, wondering why he’d even tried. ‘Social communication sucks, amiright Chat?’ Techno thought with a snort.

“Talking bad.
L.
Technosocial haha!
F.
F.
FFF-
EEEEEE-”

Techno groaned as Chat descended into simple sounds that pierced his brain. “Might as well get some work done today…” Techno murmured as he wandered off to collect his pickaxe before delving into the mines.

Chapter Text

Dream slumped heavily into a chair with a groan of relief. A sleepy sniffle from his side made the man freeze immediately however, and he prayed that he hadn’t just undone all the progress he’d made in the last hour. Thankfully, Arielle didn’t stir, and Dream could relax without fear once more. ‘Why did I ever agree to this hell…’ Dream thought to himself, trying to massage a growing headache away with his fingers. Arielle had kept Dream on his toes the entire time, somehow managing to get herself into so many dangerous situations that Dream’s paranoia had been at an all time high. Anything from trying to grab one of Techno’s swords, to nearly managing to activate the enchanting table; Dream had to prevent it all. 

He still remembered the harrowing few minutes of having to try and corral the giggling child when she somehow managed to get a hold of one of his throwing knives (that he was sure he’d kept secured in the locked pouch on his hip). She’d lifted the knife up, giving Dream a good view of the very dangerous weapon in the toddler’s fist, before taking off with a squeal of laughter when Dream lunged towards her. It was clear she saw the whole thing as a game, and didn’t think at all about the dangers of running with a very sharp, very pointy object in her hands. Dream wondered if that was a common trait in all toddlers, or if he’d just gotten stuck with one that had zero self-preservation skills. 

Then, when Dream had finally managed to grab hold of the child and pry and knife from her hands, she’d exploded into the first tantrum he’d ever had to deal with. She’d cried, screamed and wailed unfalteringly for what felt like hours, although it had probably only been a fraction of that time. Dream had tried to be firm and tell her that she couldn’t have the knife back, as he was pretty sure discipline was important for young children, but all that did was make Arielle beat her tiny fists against his chest and scream louder. Desperate to find a solution, Dream had ended up throwing one of Techno's old cloaks on top of the girl, burying her in the fabric and cutting off the wailing with a squeak of shock. Thankfully, that quickly turned to giggles and after that, Dream found himself engaged in a light game of tug of war with the child, her meltdown all but forgotten.

Unfortunately, not every incident was so easily resolved, and it didn't help that Arielle seemed to have a fascination with his mask, so Dream had to spend most of the time fending off tiny fingers from trying to pull the mask off, or undo the string keeping it on his head at the back. Dream wasn’t sure if she was also like that with the latches on Techno’s cloaks, seeing as she seemed as enamoured with the garments as she was with his mask, and Dream suppressed an amused snort at the image of Techno losing his cloak mid-step due to Arielle’s shenanigans.

“How does he do it?” Dream muttered to himself, staring at the finally asleep terror of a toddler on her bed. He’d dragged a chair next to it in order to properly keep an eye on her, but now that the excitement had died down, the green-clad man found himself with absolutely nothing to do. His mind was still on high alert, waiting for the other shoe to drop, but his body was betraying him and soon he found himself curling up in the surprisingly large and comfy chair that he was sure Techno had made specifically to be more comfortable to sleep in. It wouldn’t surprise the green-clad man, since he knew Techno was enough of a workaholic to probably fall asleep outside of his bed more often than he did in it. 

After feeling his mind drift with inattention and with exhaustion pressing down on his shoulders, Dream let his eyes flutter shut. “Just… just for a few minutes…” 

Dream blinked as he took in the carnage around him, resisting the urge to sneeze the smoke from his nose. The entire village was up in flames, people running and screaming as they were cut down by hordes of laughing marauders. They were relentless, tearing though families and their homes alike, and Dream startled himself to find a single tear slipping down his cheek. Lifting a finger to it, Dream frowned in confusion when his chest tightened and despair sank into his gut. "What…"

"There she is! Get 'er!" A voice roared to his left, and Dream's head snapped to face it so fast his neck clicked. Running towards him was a group of armoured men, grinning at him menacingly. Dream didn't waste a moment to ponder on why his voice sounded so high pitched before taking off. He darted through the collapsing settlement, dodging the living and dead alike, and couldn't help but notice how his body felt foreign; almost like it was too small and with different proportions than he was used to. 

Managing to lose the men with the agility his small form gave him in comparison to the brutes, Dream hurriedly ducked into an alley, a feeling he couldn't help but trust blindly leading him there. He peeked out at the carnage around him, feeling more tears drip down his cheeks. "It's my fault…" The words felt like they were ripped from him, as if he wasn't the one controlling them, and their vague meaning made him frown. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that the place he was in was completely unknown to him, and yet felt so familiar in a strange, detached way. It didn't feel like him that found the place familiar. More like-

"Aoife!" A voice called out and Dream instinctively knew that they were calling for him; that that was his name. Spinning around, Dream stared wide eyed at the crying woman trying to get through the men attacking her, in order to reach him. Dream lurched forward, a familiar name on his lips and a cry stuck in his throat as the woman's eyes widened in panic-

CRASH

Dream shot up like a cannon, pushing past the vertigo spinning his vision and yanking his sword from its sheath to deal with the threat- Or he would have, if his hand hadn’t circled around empty air. Stumbling forward with a curse, Dream only just managed to catch himself before he face planted the floor, and instead took to surveying his surroundings. The familiar walls of Techno’s bunker came into view, and Dream relaxed slightly as the memories came back. ‘Oh right yeah, I was babysitting for Tech-’ Dream cut himself off as his head whipped to the bed next to him. The only thing to greet him were empty sheets and a single pillow, and the horror that dropped into his stomach like lead was instant. 

“Arielle!” Dream called, prowling forward to scan the entire room. Several minutes passed with only the light crackling of the torches on the wall for company, and the dread in Dream's chest only grew more crushing. Hurriedly rushing around the room, Dream tore chests from the walls to peer behind them, ducked under the beds to check for her there, and even checked inside every chest on the off-chance she'd managed to fall into one and had gotten locked inside. 

At the end of it all, Dream stood in the centre of the chaos he'd created, panting with panic and trembling with adrenaline. "ARIELLE! " Dream hoarsely screamed once again, although he'd lost hope in getting a response after the fifth time he'd tried. His mind was running a mile a minute, working through all the possible explanations for Arielle's disappearance. They just kept getting worse, from being kidnapped (however unlikely that was with him asleep in the same room and having left no traces behind) to accidentally setting off the enchantment table and erasing herself from existence . Thankfully, that last one was easy to check, and Dream all but sprinted the few metres to the enchantment table. Slamming his hands down on it, the green-clad man immediately channeled his energy into it, not even caring how the golden energy roared to life around him, encompassing his entire body and almost burning him with its intensity. The table faltered under the influx of godly aura before giving way entirely, allowing Dream unfettered access to its own ender energies. Scanning its frequencies, Dream remained tense as he checked through all the uses in the last week. Most were just normal enchantments Techno must have made, although there were fewer than he'd assumed there would be. Then, finally Dream got to that day and checked the entries, barely breathing… nothing. Dream almost staggered from the sheer amount of relief that coursed through his veins, and he let his energy dissipate with a shaky exhale.

Unfortunately, while that crossed off the worst possible outcome, it didn't solve the problem. Arielle was missing , and Dream hadn't even thought to tag her with his energy signature, just like he'd done to every other off-world member of his world, in order to locate her. He'd assumed that she would already have a tag, seeing as her mother was a permanent resident, which meant she should have been born with one. However, that assumption was quickly proven false, as the moment Dream tried to reach into his core and find the small little energy thread connecting her to him, and therefore, his world, he found that she didn't have one. Letting out a shaky sigh, Dream pressed his fingers to his temples to attempt to stave off his mounting headache, and tried to think through his blinding panic. All his mind kept circling back to was that somehow she'd gotten out, but Dream had listened to Techno when he'd told him what to do and what not to do, and on that list was to close off the staircase and never leave the bubble column open with Arielle unattended- 

Dream's head snapped to the stairs, his confusion only mounting when he saw that it was well secured and blocked off by a locked door that Dream was sure Arielle hadn’t managed to breach. Wondering over, he quickly tried the handle and confirmed it to still be locked. “She didn’t go this way… then-.” Dream cut himself off with a gasp and spun to face the bubble column, and all he could do was stare as he realised, horror creeping into his masked face, that it was unblocked. Walking over to it, Dream stared down at the little wet handprint on the stone of the floor, only now noticing the tipped over barrel of emeralds to his left that also had small fingerprints on the edge, as if Arielle had tried to grab onto it to save herself from being sucked up by the column. "Fuck. "

She was gone.

Meanwhile, a small pink haired child shivered as she collapsed onto the wet grass after breaching the lake's surface and miraculously finding herself in the shallow end of the lake (not that she knew how close she came to drowning). Shivering on the grass, Arielle felt tears prick her eyes as her terror mounted. "T-Tech?" Arielle called out, teeth chattering, but the only answer was the soft cawing of birds and the gentle afternoon breeze that ruffled her damp curls. Her head whipped back and forth, taking in the unfamiliar scenery, and tears continued to build and slip down her cheeks as she found no safety in her surroundings. Facing back to the forest, Arielle noticed a small opening in one of the bushes and using her baby logic, believed that it would lead her to her father. "Tech, Tech…" Arielle babbled and hiccuped, stumbling to her feet before staggering off into the forest to try and find him, leaving water droplets and tears trailing behind her.

Chapter Text

Dream shot out of the lake above Techno’s base, axe strapped to his hip and shield swung over his back. He wasn’t taking any chances in recovering the missing toddler, and if anyone else found her, he doubted they’d give her up without a fight. Especially if it were someone from Manburg. Dream shivered at the thought; he did not want to find out what would happen, to them or to him, if Arielle was hurt by them and Techno found out (which he would - Dream was not the kind of asshole to hold the man back from his justified retribution, even if some of it would most likely be aimed at himself). Thankfully, Dream knew that with his skills, his only match on this server in a fight would be Techno, but that didn’t help much if he was ganged up on. Two or three, sure, but more than that? Maybe five or six? Yeah, Dream was going to be as prepared as possible just in case the worst scenario came to pass.

Stepping out of the water and drying himself hurriedly with a little bit of godly aura, Dream immediately began scanning the treeline while absently patting down his pockets to make sure the potions he’d borrowed from Techno hadn’t slipped out in the bubble column. Dream’s eyes quickly locked onto tiny footprints in the mud of the bank that trailed off in the direction of the forest, and Dream sighed in relief that the child had managed to somehow make it out of the lake on her own. Carefully stepping alongside them, Dream took a straight path into the forest in the same direction as the footprints. Pushing past shrubbery and ducking under low branches, Dream strained his eyes for any flash of pink, hoping and praying that someone hadn’t found her already. If they had… Well, things were most likely going to get messy. However if they hadn’t, then Dream knew that Arielle couldn’t have gone far; she had only begun to walk a month ago, and in no way did she have enough stamina to get very far. 

“Ari! Where are you?” Dream called out, still walking deeper into the forest. For all he knew, she could have veered off before this point and Dream was just getting further and further away from her. Sighing, Dream clenched a fist and shook his head to shake out that thought. ‘No point in thinking like that. I have to find her, either way.’

“Dream? What are you doing here?” Dream spun around so quickly he almost lost his balance, hidden eyes wide and adrenaline searing through his veins. However, the moment his eyes locked onto the source of the voice, ice cold dread spread through his veins and Dream had to catch himself before he absently slipped into a combat-ready stance. In front of him stood Fundy in his Manburg uniform, eyes narrowed in suspicion and ears pinned back. His tail was lashing behind him, broadcasting his wariness, and Dream cursed in his head. ‘Of all people to be here, it had to be a Manbergian.’ The man thought, before adopting a relaxed posture to try and dispel some of Fundy’s misgivings. “Hey there Fundy! Fancy seeing you here.” Dream winced at that, and Fundy simply glared harder at him, the crossbow in his hands shuffling as he lifted it a little higher. “Who’s Ari, Dream? You shouldn’t be here, this is Manberg land.” Fundy ground out. Dream’s brain ran at lightning speed as it tried to come up with a solution. 
“Ah, sorry about that. You see, I have a cat.” Fundy raised an eyebrow.
“A cat.”
“Yep! Her name is Ari, but when I carried her around I may have accidentally dropped her into a lake and she ran off. I’m trying to find her.” Dream willed his body to exude honest intentions with a hint of embarrassment, and it seemed to work, if the amused snort Fundy let out was any indication.
“Well I haven’t seen any cats recently. Want me to help you search? In order to get you off our land quickly, of course.” Fundy added, lowering his crossbow, and Dream couldn’t help but wince.

Fundy was still young, not even twenty years old, and yet had been forced away from his family by a dictator. Dream knew that Fundy had allegedly decided to join Schlatt of his own accord, but Dream knew better; it was more likely that he was scared. He was terrified and confused and latched onto the only stable thing he could see at that damned election, which just didn’t happen to be his fleeing father. Everyone seemed to forget that while yes, Fundy was physically and mentally nineteen years old, his actual years alive hadn’t even hit five yet. Dream knew that fox hybrids tended to mature ridiculously fast before their aging slowed to a crawl when they hit their 5th year, before finally picking back up again when they actually hit 20 years old. Not even Dream really understood why, although he had his suspicions. Some other hybrids, such as guardians and others with somewhat mystical origins also sometimes aged erratically, but while it wasn’t unheard of, it was still certainly rare. Therefore, it was never on the front of anyone’s minds, and so most people didn’t even think about it; if you looked a certain age range, then you were in that age range and were expected to act like it.

However, while Fundy was technically as mentally and physically developed as a nineteen year old, this didn’t change the fact that Fundy had only been alive for five years, and so didn’t have anywhere near as much experience as a regular nineteen year old, and so couldn’t be expected to be as independent as one either. It was clear from the way he’d earnestly offered to help Dream, that his heart wasn’t fully into supporting Schlatt and his ideals, and the entire situation he was in made Dream’s blood boil in rage at the ram hybrid sitting pretty on his metaphorical throne. 

“Dream?” Fundy’s voice snapped Dream from his anger, and the green-clad man looked up to see wary eyes staring back at him, a hint of concern shining in their depths. 
“Ah, sorry! And don’t worry, I should have her back by the end of the day. She’s pretty young, so she couldn’t have gotten too far. I’ll be gone before you know it.” Dream all but chirped, waving a hand placatingly. Fundy just shrugged. “If you’re sure.” Dream nodded before wandering off, calling for ‘Ari’ as if she was a cat and not a small child. Fundy watched him leave, slight confusion colouring his features as a stray question drifted into his mind. ‘Why was he out here, with his cat, so close to Manberg anyway?’

Dream kept tabs on Fundy as he slowly left the forest, before sighing in relief as he felt the man disappear behind the metaphorical Manberg border. He immediately dropped the connection, still honouring the contract between himself and Wilbur that had been decided almost a year ago. Instead, he turned back to his search for Arielle and continued calling out. It soon started to feel hopeless, but before the creeping despair could sneak it’s way back into Dream’s chest, his ears picked up a faint whisper in the breeze that was distinctly child-like. Snapping towards that direction, Dream immediately took off, casting out his senses to try and locate the source of the noise faster. “Arielle!” Dream called out, feeling like the name had been all but torn from his chest in his desperation. He was praying in his mind that she hadn’t been harmed, because if she had been- There! Another child-like sob drifted towards him, and Dream cursed and kept going. Eventually however, the noises dried up, and Dream was forced to come to a halt before he ran right past her. “Ari!” Dream called again, but for several long seconds, all he heard was the ambience of the forest.

Thankfully, it didn’t take long before a high pitched cry, laced with terror but not pain, had Dream continuing on significantly slower than before, straining his ears to listen for any unnatural noises to signify her location. “Ari? Where are you?” Dream called out again, only to pause when he heard another small whimper come from… behind him that time? Frowning in utter confusion while his panic mounted, Dream scanned the trees around him, spinning on his heels a few times. “Ari…?” Dream murmured, only to get another whimper from his right. Turning to face it, Dream just managed to catch a flash of pink hair before it disappeared behind a tree and he sighed in relief. 

Walking forwards, Dream gently shoved the brambles out of the way to reveal Arielle, who was curled up in a ball between the roots of a large oak tree. The little girl looked up at Dream before her teary golden eyes lit up in recognition and suddenly Dream found himself being tackled by a small child. Enclosing her in his arms, Dream stood up with a grunt, the small child secure in his hold. His eyes quickly scanned her shaking frame, using a small amount of his aura to try and search for injuries despite the fact that his power was not really supposed to work that way. Thankfully, it soon became obvious that the worst of her injuries were a few weeping scratches to her bare feet, and Dream knew he could heal them up easily with a health potion. 

“Right, now which way to get back…” Dream murmured, scanning the forest. He was so preoccupied with checking for potential threats and trying to chart a course back to the base, that he didn’t even realise that there were featherlight hands gripping the strap of his mask before it was unceremoniously yanked from his face, the strap unravelling between tiny fingers. Dream yelped at the action, rocking forward and almost dropping Arielle from the shock. His face twisted in anger as his anxiety exploded like a volcano within his chest, and Dream looked down at the small child in arms, ready to scold her, only to stop short. The little girl was hugging the hard mask to her chest, staring down at it in wonder and a spark of smugness. Her giggling calmed the rage in Dream’s veins and settled the knots in his stomach, and the man sighed. “Fine fine, you win, you little terror.” Arielle simply tucked her head into Dream’s chest, the mask squished between them, and didn’t look up once. Dream huffed before hoisting the child into a more comfortable position, causing her to giggle at the movement. “Right, so I came from this direction…”

Dream sighed in relief as he sat down on Techno’s chair, sinking into it with exhaustion. Arielle hummed on his chest, sending vibrations through his torso, and Dream quirked a small smile at the sleepy expression on her face. While he wasn’t entirely comfortable with her still clutching his mask like a lifeline, he wasn’t going to do anything to upset her after the day she’d had; it was technically his fault she’d gotten lost, after all. He couldn’t expect such a small child to not be curious about bubbling water.

Dream eyed his mask again, before sighing. The god tipped his head back and closed his eyes, trying to get used to the feel of the chill air on his face. He’d been too preoccupied with getting back to the bunker to worry about his lack of mask, apart from hoping no-one stumbled across them before they’d made it back, but thankfully that hadn’t been a problem. However, now that they were safe again, there was nothing to stop Dream’s anxiety from flooding back full force. He’d never willingly taken his mask off in front of anyone before - it was so intrinsic to him now that having it off felt similar to being naked. He had to push down the instinctive urge to snatch the mask back from the child, since he knew that it would do nothing but upset her. Thankfully, the longer he went without it on, the more he managed to get his muscles to relax, and he hummed slightly in recognition. ‘Maybe I should take it off more often, at least alone…’

A whimper snapped Dream from his thoughts, and his eyes flew open. Looking down, Dream immediately noticed the issue. One of Arielle’s hands had let go of it’s death grip on his mask, and was instead gingerly clutching at one of her feet. Dream winced when he realised he forgot that she’d hurt them. “Ah, sorry Ari, I’ll deal with that now. You sit here, okay? I’ll be back.” Dream gently lifted the child from his lap and settled her on her bed next to him, before hauling himself to his feet and wandering off to find Techno’s first aid supplies. He drew the singular health potion he’d swiped, from the pocket of his trousers, before rummaging through chest after chest to find the rest. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t too long before Dream opened a certain chest to reveal rows upon rows of bandages and a staggering amount of glass bottles. Eyes boggling at the sight, Dream gently reached in and grabbed a roll of bandages and a clean rag, stashing them in the pocket of his jacket. He then went through all the labels on the bottles, discarding most of the more potent potions. He didn’t need them for such small scrapes, but what he did need- ‘Ah! There it is.’ Dream grinned triumphantly as he plucked a small bottle labeled ‘Rubbing Alcohol’ from the chest. He stood up to return to Arielle, before grimacing at the realisation that he’d have to disinfect Arielle’s feet with alcohol before he could heal them. Alcohol that would hurt and therefore probably cause a lot of screaming. At that thought, Dream quickly swiped a bottle of water, planning on diluting the alcohol so it hopefully wouldn’t be as harsh on the child’s skin. Unfortunately, he knew that this wouldn’t help much with the pain. ‘This is going to suck.’

Half an hour later, Dream was carefully wrapping up Arielle’s feet after cleaning and healing them, Arielle’s sniffles from her recent crying echoing in the room. However, just as he finished the last foot, Dream felt small fingers gently touching his face, and he froze. Lifting his head slowly, Dream’s wide green eyes met Arielle’s intrigued golden ones, and he couldn’t help but tense. ‘Gods dammit, I can’t believe I forgot.’ Dream cursed himself. However, it was too late to do anything about it; Arielle had clearly seen them already. Her mouth had dropped open with awe as she stared at his face, and Dream did his best not to move a muscle, lest he accidentally lash out at the small child.

Of course, Dream didn’t just wear the mask for no good reason, and Arielle was the first person who’d properly seen that reason; not even Sapnap had ever seen them, and George had only glimpsed them once before Dream had managed to turn his head away after his mask had broken off by accident. He’d never willingly shown anyone before, and the mixed signals telling him to not hurt Arielle but also to remove the threat that had seen them , were driving him mad. Thankfully, he knew that Arielle’s age meant she couldn’t tell anyone what she saw anyway, and Dream hoped that she'd forget his face quickly as she grew. That thought made Dream pause for a moment; ‘Since when did I plan on hanging around long enough to see Arielle grow?’

The child in question snapped Dream from his thoughts by beginning to trace the golden, swirling lines decorating his face as they spiralled from his forehead, down his cheeks before disappearing down his neck. They sparkled in the torch light of the cavern, casting gold dust-like specks of light all across the room. Arielle babbled happily, grinning at Dream who couldn’t help but smile at the excited light in her eyes. As Arielle tried to shuffle closer to him, Dream gently scooped her into his arms before sitting back in his chair, letting her spin around on his lap to tap gently on the golden swirls again.

“These are called Divine Markings, Ari.” Dream started to explain, causing the child to tilt her head and make an enquiring noise. Dream smiled at the action, settling her more firmly in his lap, before deciding to continue. He didn’t see any harm in explaining them to the child; who could she tell anyway? “They form on a godling when they first start coming into their heritage. Usually there’s no warning, or at least, most signs aren’t noticed by normal people. Only gods usually can recognise the little soul-shifts signifying a godling awakening, and it’s rare to find a godling raised by a god; both are so rare that we rarely meet.” Dream stared absently at a random spot on the wall, momentarily forgetting that he was talking to a toddler and therefore all the big words he was using would most likely go right over her head.

“The Markings can form anywhere on the godling’s body; I was just unlucky enough to get them in such a visible place. It’s better to hide them, see - makes it harder for the Hunters to notice that you’re not exactly mortal. Thankfully, most people don’t know what they mean anyway, and once a godling ascends to proper godhood, they’re usually too strong for all but the most bold and stupid of hunters to bother with. But the tattoos are still an easily identifiable mark so… better to hide ‘em.” Dream inhaled, a slight frown twisting his features. Memories of flames flashed across his vision, smoke clogging his nose, ash in his mouth-

Dream jolted and gasped as Arielle tugged on a lock of his blonde hair, sending sharp, grounding pain along his scalp. “Ow ow ow, Arielle, no, bad! Let go.” Dream scolded, and Arielle immediately released Dream’s hair as if it had burned her. Tears welled in her eyes, and instantly Dream went from chastising her to panicking. “No no, don’t cry Ari, it’s okay, it’s okay!” Dream tried to tug her into a hug, his default response for trying to get her to stop crying, but Arielle pulled away with a whimper. Mind racing, Dream made solutions as fast as he discarded them, before one thought finally stuck in his mind.

“Hey Ari? Do you want to know how to say my name?” Dream asked, causing the inquisitive child to pause. Arielle met Dream’s eyes unflinchingly, her meltdown all but forgotten as she babbled. Sighing in relief, Dream smiled at the child and patted her on the head. “Okay, can you say Dream for me?”
“Dhu!”
“Dr-ea-m. Like that.”
“Dmmm?”
“You’re getting there! Dr-ea-m.”
“Dee!”
“Nearly-” But Dream found himself cut off as Arielle giggled, clapping her hands with glee.
“Dee! Dee Dee Dee!” Dream relented, giving Arielle an equally amused and defeated smile as she laughed and chanted. His mask was still clutched in one tiny fist, bouncing in her lap, and Dream resigned himself to the fact that he probably wasn’t getting it back any time soon.
“Close enough.”

Chapter Text

Techno groaned as he landed heavily in the waterlogged tunnel leading to his base, resisting the urge to stretch his sore muscles. Peering into the gloom of the torch-lit bunker, Techno frowned when he didn’t immediately hear or spot either Dream or Arielle anywhere. He was about to call out before abruptly halting, eyes wide as they landed on his chair, which was definitely not in the same position as before. His eyes traced the sight of Dream completely passed out in the chair and curled around what Techno assumed to be Arielle, if the pink tuft of hair was any indication. They were both completely still apart from the steady rise of Dream’s chest, and Techno relaxed at the sight. He crept further into the base, and as he started carefully laying his tools down and shrugging off his cloak, he couldn’t help but survey the golden marks marring Dream’s lax face. However, he didn’t dwell on them and instead decided to accept their presence and then dismiss them from his mind. They didn’t tell him anything he didn’t know already, anyway.

Unfortunately, with his energy lagging and his tools all being made of heavy diamond, it was inevitable that he would slip up. And slip up he did, losing his grip on his shovel and hissing out a curse as it landed with a clang onto the stone ground. The sound ricocheted around the cavern, and Techno sighed as Dream shot out of the chair, clutching a startled Arielle to his chest with one hand and swinging his sword up with the other. The man’s green eyes were clouded over with sleep, but as he squinted, the fog cleared away. Blinking owlishly at Techno, Dream remained motionless for a few seconds before all the tension drained from his body in a visible wave. He sighed heavily, unceremoniously dropping his sword onto the bed (and ignoring Techno’s sharp look in case he managed to cut some of the bedding), and hoisted Arielle into a more comfortable position against his hip. 

“Damnit Techno, way to give me a wake up call.” The green man grouched, and Techno snorted as he finished emptying his pack. He began taking off his armour at a much faster pace than before as well, seeing as he no longer had a reason to be quiet. “I think you’re slipping Dream. I was in here for several minutes before you bothered to wake up.” Dream just scowled at him and Techno smirked. However, before Dream could reply, a tinkling, happy squeal interrupted them. Glancing down from Dream’s face, Techno let his expression soften into a small smile as he met Arielle’s wide, golden eyes. “Tech!” Arielle crowed, holding a hand out towards him. Techno took a moment to eye the white mask clutched to her chest with her other arm, before he obliged her. Placing the last of his items in their respective places, Techno walked over and plucked the child from Dream’s arms, rolling his eyes at the green-clad man’s playful pout. He easily maneuvered Arielle into a more comfortable position, chest to chest, and the small child immediately latched onto his now-dusty shirt. The little girl gazed up at Techno with sparkling eyes, and Techno sent a soft smile down at her.

It was then that Techno registered that Dream had gone stock still next to him in a way that he’d only seen when the god had been threatened. Tensing in reaction, Techno’s eyes snapped to Dream’s face, his arms tightening around Arielle protectively. Dream’s face was ashen, making his markings stand out even more starkly against his pale skin, and his eyes were wide with what Techno noticed, with a shred of confusion, seemed to be fear. And they were trained right at him. “Dream? What’s wrong?” Techno asked, subtly shifting closer to his weapons. Dream’s eyes shot towards the movement before he was suddenly throwing himself backwards, almost tripping over the chair in his haste. “Dream!?” Techno barked, shocked, before following the man’s fragile gaze to where it was darting between Techno’s face and Arielle. Frowning, Techno glanced down to see Arielle happily hugging Dream’s porcelain mask, unchanged from her position from a few minutes beforehand. “What, Dream? Arielle’s fine, she's happy with your mask. What has you looking like a startled rabbit?” Techno called out, voice irritated now that it seemed clear that Dream’s behaviour was completely unexplainable (at least to him).

“You- my face-?” Dream actually stuttered, subtly reaching towards his shield which was sandwiched between Arielle’s bed and a chest, obviously acting as some sort of barrier for the child. Techno’s brows furrowed in confusion, eyes tracing Dream’s face, before the lightbulb finally stuttered to life in his brain. Resisting the urge to sigh, Techno rolled his eyes before stalking forward, ignoring Dream’s borderline snarl as he leapt to the side. Techno headed right for the chair next to Arielle’s bed before sinking into it with a groan of relief, letting his sore muscles finally relax after a hard day in the mines. The movement made Arielle giggle before she eventually settled again, eyes closed and a small contented smile on her face. 

However, when Techno registered that Dream was still staring at him as if he expected to be murdered any second, the warrior sighed before pinning the unmasked man with a raised eyebrow. “I already knew you were a god, Dream; they don’t tell me anything I don’t already know. I get why you’re such a stickler for the mask though now. Terrible luck getting them on your face.” Techno winced in sympathy. Dream just blinked at him a few times before gradually relaxing, although he didn’t come any closer. Techno didn’t blame him. Now that he understood the situation, Techno would have been hesitant as well. ‘I can’t believe Phil had the patience with me that he did if I was worse than that all the time.’ Techno mentally grumbled to himself.

Thankfully, Techno’s utter lack of concern with the situation, as well as his handicap in the form of a small child sleeping on his chest, seemed to put Dream at ease rather quickly, for he eventually dropped out of his readied stance to stand more comfortably. Techno’s keen ears flicked and picked up the quiet murmur of, “Of course he’d know what they were,” but didn’t say anything as Dream wandered over to perch on the end of Arielle’s bed with a sardonic, if subdued, snort. 
“You’re telling me. I’m the one that’s had to deal with the shit luck.” Techno nodded his head towards the man in agreement, and a short silence fell, broken only by occasional shuffling as Arielle moved around to get comfortable. Dream’s reaction from before went unmentioned by either of them, which suited Techno just fine. If Dream didn’t want to talk about it, then Techno wasn’t about to bring it up.

“So, how’d it go?” Dream enquired, and understanding what he meant immediately, all Techno did was let out a groan that just screamed I’m so done with it all. 
“That bad, huh? What happened?” Techno scowled as Tubbo’s enraged face and Wilbur’s manic grin flashed across his mind.
“Well, Wilbur’s lost it.” Dream hummed.
“Nothing we didn’t already know.”
“Yeah, but it’s not just a little paranoia and distrust like we thought. It's worse.” Dream frowned, meeting Techno’s exhausted red eyes with his own tired, troubled green. With a jolt, Techno realised that this was the first time he’d ever held a conversation with the man without his mask hiding his facial reactions. He guessed it was also probably the first time anyone had held a conversation with the man unmasked, if Dream’s previous reaction was any proof, and that realisation settled heavily in his chest.

“Like, going to snap and go on a murder-spree bad? Or just more obsessive and insanely unpredictable and therefore dangerous, bad?” Dream asked, and Techno grimaced.
“Thankfully, still the second. I wouldn’t be surprised if it hit the first at some point though.” Dream clicked his tongue before swinging a leg up to cross the other over his lap. With his face now visible, Techno could easily see the whirring mind behind Dream’s eyes working overtime as he assimilated the information and changed all of his no-doubt hundreds of contingency plans to fit it. It was an interesting perspective of the man Techno thought he knew well; now he realised he’d only just scratched the surface. 

“Oh yeah, Dream. Why’d you take your mask off anyway? You never take it off.” Techno asked, and Dream chuckled, averting his gaze in embarrassment.
“Ah well, you see…” Techno easily saw the small glances the man shot at Arielle, and was even faster in putting the pieces together. Immediately, he burst into laughter, causing Dream to squawk in outrage and Arielle to stir with a whine. “She stole it from you, didn’t she! Hahaaa, no wonder you look so ragged; she probably ran circles around you!” Techno all but cackled, causing Dream to scowl at him, a red blush creeping down his neck.
“Oi! You try running around after her when she’s literally trying to grab anything and everything that could kill her! You didn’t exactly lock anything away from her - she has free reign of the whole damn bunker!” That just set Techno off again, and Arielle even let out a little snarl, that Techno immediately recognised as piglin in nature, as she was dislodged by his movements. Techno swallowed his laughter and gave a clipped bark back, and while Dream stared at the interaction with wide eyes, probably seeing the gesture as aggressive, Techno knew better. It seemed Arielle’s instincts did too, for she settled down quickly at the small, light chide before dropping right back off to sleep.

Silence fell for a little while, the lighthearted atmosphere evaporating as tension of their situation slowly pressed down on them like a physical weight. Only Arielle remained oblivious, as she was deep in the land of dreams, kept there by the steady beating of her father’s heart. “Dream, seriously, this whole Revolution business is getting way more complicated than I thought.” Dream lifted an eyebrow in surprise.
“Wait, what? You, the anarchist, are worried about overthrowing a government?” Techno threw a scathing glare at Dream direction, and while Dream tried to keep his expression level, the lifting of the corners of his lips gave away his amusement. “I do have a kid to look after now, Dream. I don’t want her getting mixed up in all of this.” Dream fell quiet for a few moments before answering.
“Yeah, I get that, but we’re the only people in this world that knows that she exists.” Techno raised an enquiring eyebrow at that, and Dream elaborated. “Oh, her mother- yeah, no I… encouraged her to forget Arielle’s existence. She was a shit mother anyway.” Dream waved off the rather large bombshell of he could literally erase memories, as if he were talking about the weather. Techno just blinked once, processed, and then shoved that little tidbit to the furthermost corner of his mind to be dealt with when he had the energy to give a damn about it. 

“Dream, Arielle being so unknown is part of the problem. Only we know about her, and we’re both deeply involved. Yeah, it would be fine if one of us had nothing to do with the Revolution, but you’re literally the god of the world; you have to be involved, and I’m one of the main members of the resistance.” Techno grimaced slightly. “Well, I think I still am. The others don’t seem to be too happy with me at the moment.” Dream stayed silent, and Techno watched as a frown slid onto his face as the realisation of their situation sunk in.
“Damn. So if something goes down-”
“-there’s no-one to look after Arielle.” Techno finished.

Both men lapsed into silence, and Techno’s mind couldn’t help but whirl back to one solution - well, a semi-solution. The only way to properly ensure Arielle always had someone that could look after her would be to tell someone else about her, but that just opened up more and more problems and Techno knew he wouldn’t be willing to let anyone know about her until at least, the Revolution was over. And maybe not even after that. There just wasn’t anyone on the server at that point who was neutral and he trusted enough to entrust the knowledge of Arielle’s existence to. Once, those people would have been his family, but with his brothers basically at his throat and his father worlds away… yeah, that wasn’t happening any time soon. So all that was left was his other idea…

“Dream.” Dream hummed inquiringly, but Techno could tell that he wasn’t completely listening to him. Perfect. “What about if you continue to look after Arielle while I have to be in Pogtopia. You know, tag-team it?”
“Hmm, yeah, good idea.” Dream just mumbled absently, and only seemed to register what he’d just agreed to when he saw Techno smirk like the cat that caught the canary. Running back over what had just been said, Dream’s eyes widened and he shot up with a squawk. “Wait wait wait! I can’t keep babysitting Arielle! I have Admin work to do-”
“Which can be done from anywhere, I’ve seen it done by Admins before.” Techno cut in, and Dream scowled at him.
“I also have to keep an eye on how both sides of this conflict are developing-”
“Which I can easily do for you. I know how to be sneaky too, Dream, and the others never bother to check where I’ve been. Well, as long as they see me at least semi-regularly.” Techno remarked, causing Dream to growl.
“I just- I can’t keep looking after her, Techno! I’m not cut out to care for children!” Techno raised a single eyebrow, and Dream couldn’t help but feel like he was being silently mocked; knowing Techno, he probably was.

“You did a good job today. She’s not dead or hurt, at least, and didn’t seem all that upset either. I’d say a solid eight out of ten.” Dream huffed at him and turned away in silence, but Techno didn’t miss the slight flinch at the word ‘hurt’. He narrowed his eyes slightly, before deciding to ignore it for now. Techno then grinned, knowing that Dream had run out of options. “So?” The warrior prompted, and Dream spun around with a snarl.
“Fine! Fine, I’ll look after her when you have to be out. Happy now?” Techno smirked.
“Very.” Dream just threw his hands in the air.
“Do you just live to be infuriating?”
“It’s my specialty, didn’t you know?” Dream just let out a wordless, garbled cry of frustration, and Techno grinned, showing far too many teeth for it to be an innocent expression. 

Unfortunately for Dream, it was at this point that all hell broke loose.

Techno shifted Arielle in his arms, and his hand happened to brush past one of Arielle’s feet; her bandaged, still tender, feet. The little girl gasped awake with a yelp, curling up to grab her foot, and Techno glanced down with alarm. His eyes spotted the bandages and he could do nothing but stare for several moments. “Oh shit.” Dream whispered, and Techno slowly brought his livid gaze to meet Dream’s fearful one, ignoring the hands raised by his head in surrender. “Aha, I can explain?”

Safe to say, Dream wasn’t ever going to forget to block off the bubble column ever again.

“Very interesting. You’re sure that Dream was looking for a cat? Did he describe it?” Fundy gulped, trying to avoid fidgeting as he stood in front of Schlatt’s desk in his grand office. The man had his elbows resting on the desk, fingers obscuring his mouth and interlocked, hiding his expression from the teen. Combining that with the black suit and the ram horns curling around his ears, the small, childish part of Fundy couldn’t help but think that he couldn’t have looked more like an evil politician if he tried. 

“No, sorry sir. He just said it was young.” Schlatt’s expression dropped into a frown, and Fundy couldn’t help but tense on principle. He’d never been shouted at by Schlatt directly before - he was rarely in his office at all - but everyone who worked in his administration had heard at least one screaming match and knew the stories. You don’t do good enough, and you’d be lucky to make it out of the office without being brained by a glass bottle. Only the other day, Fundy had spotted Quackity stitching up a large gash in his own shoulder, and as Fundy walked past, he hadn’t missed the scent of tears in the air either.

“Did he seem… attached? Did he care for it?” Fundy frowned a little, but quickly masked the expression, lest his boss believe it was directed at him.
“Uh- Well, yeah, he seemed worried about it. He was pretty determined to find it.” Schlatt said nothing, only staring at Fundy as if he would read the truth from the man’s mind himself. Fundy couldn’t help but twitch slightly, but he forced his tail to remain still behind him. Schlatt hated fidgeting. “Right, well that’s basically useless. Get out.” Schlatt finally dismissed him after a long period of tense silence, and Fundy didn’t waste a moment before bolting from the office. Just as he crossed the threshold, his keen ears picked up a harsh murmur of, “can no-one in this damned place do anything right?!” before his legs carried him down the corridor, desperate to get away as fast as possible.

Back in his office, Schlatt stared out of his window, surveying his treasure of a town, and smirked. “So Dream has a little weakness, huh? You’d think he would have learned better by now; having pets is dangerous. Of course, this only works in my favour.” The man glanced back at the Declaration of Independence hanging on the office wall, being the one thing from Wilbur that he actually wanted to keep, and let his grin stretch even wider.

“Checkmate.”

Chapter Text

Techno stared down in dismay and thinly veiled panic at the squirming, whimpering child in her bed. Arielle’s cheeks were flushed an unhealthy pink, the rest of her skin scarily pale, and her short, pink ringlets were plastered to her head with sweat. She was wriggling in distress, having kicked her sheets clean over the side of the bed sometime during the night, which was a feat in itself, seeing as she’d have to have leveraged them over the chests surrounding her on all sides. Techno frowned as he reached down to press the back of his hand to the little girl’s forehead, brief memories of doing the same for his family years ago guiding his hand. Immediately, the heat radiating from her made Techno wince before he scooped the child into his arms to try and settle her.

It was only the morning after Arielle’s little disastrous adventure (to which Techno had taken such pleasure from sending Dream running with his metaphorical tail between his legs). He’d had little trouble settling the sleepy child into bed that night, thankfully, and had all but collapsed into his own the moment his body had clocked on to the fact that they were safe. Sometimes, Techno cursed his battle-hardened instincts; they kept him alive, sure, but outside of battle they were more hassle than they were worth. 

Techno had also found himself sleeping like a log for the first time since taking in Arielle- well, no, actually that wasn’t true. He couldn’t really remember the last time he’d had a true night’s rest, even before taking in a small, needy infant. He’d gotten so used to the threat of battle and stress of survival that he hadn’t had a reason to relax in a long while. Unfortunately, that really should have tipped Techno off that his swinging pendulum of luck would come back down from its peak at some point. However, he’d been blissfully unaware of that when he’d first woken up that morning, feeling pleasantly rested and calm for the first time since he’d left his home with Phil and his brothers. 

Then he’d heard Arielle whimpering and that feeling of serenity evaporated like water in the nether.

Techno huffed out a harsh breath through his nose as he tried to rock the feverish infant in his arms into some facsimile of rest. Her head was tucked into the crook of his shoulder, arms curled up to her chest, and Techno withheld a hiss of alarm as the sheer sickly heat radiating from her seared against his bare chest. Unfortunately, while Techno knew that the huge temperature increase was normal for sick piglins, since they usually experienced fevers of much greater magnitudes than humans, it didn’t melt the ice of worry in his chest. Techno knew about his own reactions to fevers, not that he got sick often, and so knew that even being a half-human hybrid, his body could withstand the high heats of piglin fevers. However, Arielle had even less piglin blood than him; as far as he knew, it was only a quarter, as long as her mother wasn’t some kind of hidden hybrid that he didn’t know about. He had no idea if her body could sustain such great temperatures, and if it couldn’t…

Techno shuffled Arielle into one arm, ignoring her little whine, and swiped his communicator from the table next to him. Thumbing quickly through the menus, Techno pressed on Dream’s contact, withholding a snarl. ‘If Dream had just done his job then Arielle wouldn’t be suffering like this!’ Techno grouched in his mind, staring at the communicator as it continued to ring.

Finally, just as the man thought it would ring off, the communicator clicked and noises that vaguely sounded like the shuffling of sheets came through the speakers. “T-tech? Wassup’?” Dream’s sleep-addled voice came through and Techno took great pleasure in the fact that he’d woken the irresponsible man up.
“Dream. Arielle is sick.” There were a few moments of silence before there was a flurry of movement.
“...That’s my fault, isn't it?” Dream sounded resigned to his fate, but Techno’s wrath was cut off by the veiled undertones of worry Techno could hear in the man’s voice. “Yes, it was your fault, Dream! Now how do I fix it?” Techno barked into the communicator, and Dream squawked back. 
“Well how the hell am I supposed to know?! Just take her to a healer or something.” Techno growled, momentarily distracted when Arielle shifted on his hip and her burning forehead carved a path of heat across his shoulder as she moved.

“Look, I really am sorry about this Techno. Totally my fault.” Dream spoke again after a few moments, voice tinged with sincerity, and Techno sighed, calming the fire his emotions had become.
“Just give me somewhere I can go, Dream. Quickly. And I’m not trusting anyone within a mile of Manberg.”
“Yeah yeah, got it, just give me…” Dream trailed off, but Techno could hear the man moving around what the pinket assumed was his home. The soft whirring of what Techno could only assume to be some kind of machinery started up after a few moments, and after a minute or two longer of various technological noises, Dream hummed and responded.

“Right… okay so the closest healer would be- Oh yeah, you know the village you go to all the time?” Techno twitched as he realised the secret village that he was trying to keep away from the Greater Esempi lands wasn’t as secret as he thought. “There’s a healer there, which I’m pretty sure is the closest- yeah, all the other villages have been ransacked. Damn off-worlders…” Dream muttered towards the end, but Techno didn’t mention it; he was pretty sure he wasn’t meant to hear that, seeing as he was one of the aforementioned ‘off-worlders’. “Great, thanks Dream.” Techno answered, mentally preparing the route in his head. He went to cut off the communicator, but Dream piping up again halted the motion. “...Update me, yeah?” Techno rolled his eyes, not fooled in the slightest at the callous tone Dream put on.
“Sure.” And then he cut him off.

Techno gently adjusted Arielle’s position again to try and save his side from going numb before he peered around his base, cataloguing the things he’d no-doubt need for the journey. Many of those things quickly became medical supplies, because he wasn’t taking any chances with his sick daughter. ‘This is going to suck…’

Techno relaxed in relief as he gently urged Carl to stop just before the gates to the very familiar village. Arielle was a silent weight against his chest, sat upright and burning like a furnace, and Techno swallowed down the panic when she didn’t even stir as he moved. Carefully dismounting, Techno shifted the child into his arms and tried to ignore how the front of his shirt was drenched in sweat. He had stripped all of the layers he could from the child, leaving her in a set of very basic, light cotton clothes, but riding so close to him for an hour had done little to relieve her fever. He naturally ran hotter than most people, and for the first time he’d experienced, that fact had been more of a hindrance than a help in their situation.

Techno marched into the village, keen eyes scanning all of the buildings on the main street in order to find his destination. Arielle whimpered quietly in his arms, shifting slightly, and Techno crooned low in his throat to try and ease her distress. He wasn’t the greatest at piglin comfort, since it was never something he’d really learnt before leaving the Nether with Phil, but despite the pitch being wrong, Arielle still settled with a sniffle. Breathing a sigh of relief, Techno paused for a moment when a small, yellow and blue banner peeked out from an alley between two buildings. He couldn’t read the writing on the fabric, but the healing symbol was obvious. Techno weaved between the villagers on the street, heading straight for the alley, and had to keep himself from breaking into a run.

Techno shoved open the door to the tiny shop, peering inside and scanning the interior. It was a quaint little place, probably only slightly bigger than the underground base’s two rooms put together. One half of the room was set up as a shop which, when Techno took a closer look, he realised was selling various potions and other useful medical supplies. The other half was cut off from his sight by a large screen and as he stepped further into the room, a young woman emerged from behind it. Her eyes jumped to Techno immediately and she startled slightly before zeroing in on Arielle shivering in his arms. “Oh dear, that doesn’t look good. Follow me, quickly.” The woman disappeared rapidly behind the screen once again and Techno blinked, slightly bewildered by the sudden turn of events, before following her. Rounding the corner, Techno approached the woman standing next to a small, wooden bed covered with clean white sheets. “Place her here.” Techno did just that, wincing as he had to pry the little girl’s fingers from his shirt. Immediately, the woman got to work checking over Arielle and taking her temperature, and Techno forced himself to take a few steps back to let her work. “Age?” Techno startled.
“Oh, uh… A year?” Techno answered, sounding unsure, and the lady shot him a slightly confused look at his hesitance. “Okay, blood status?”
“Ah, a quarter piglin. Three quarters human.” The woman nodded to herself and hummed lightly. “Well, that explains the ridiculous fever.” The woman trailed off slightly before a frown splashed across her face, causing Techno to tense.

“What? What is it?” The man all but barked the words out and the woman turned to face him, eyes wide but not surprised at his alarm. “Oh no, don’t worry, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s just… I’d expected her to be a bit more resistant to heat, given her piglin blood. Seems like for her it’s done the opposite. She’s probably a little less resistant than even full-blooded humans. It shouldn’t hurt her in the long run, it’s just odd. Must be some strange reaction with her human blood being so dominant…” The woman trailed off again, taking Arielle temperature once more, and Techno relaxed slightly. His mind chewed over the words he’d just heard, trying to find any explanation for them, but when it was clear he was thinking himself in circles, he dropped the thought. Strange lack of heat resistance later, sick infant daughter now. “Well no matter what, I’m going to give her something to try and bring her fever down.” The young healer continued. “That should help. Make sure to keep her well hydrated and try and get her to eat something, even if she fusses. Other than that, she’ll have to ride it out herself. She’ll be fine though; it’s just a common cold.” Techno sighed in relief, relaxing muscles he didn’t even know were tensed. The woman saw his reaction and smiled slightly, bustling off to the side and ruffling through cabinets.

Techno approached the bed and stared down at his panting daughter, frowning. Gently, he brushed a lock of sweaty hair away from her eyes, and smiled as Arielle chased his hand and cooed. The man couldn’t resist returning the sound and Arielle smiled slightly, settling down now that she knew she was safe. The woman then stepped up on the other side of the bed and gently lifted Arielle into her arms, causing her to whine. “Now, do you know the best way to feed medicine to a sick, wriggling infant?” The woman asked, smirking in amusement as Techno winced. “Here, let me show you.”

Techno jolted into awareness as a heavy mass slammed into his stomach, knocking the air completely from his lungs. Wheezing, the man shot up in bed and grabbed the offending attacker, only to come face to face with wide, golden eyes and a cheeky grin. Groaning, Techno collapsed back against his pillow, trying to ignore the giggling child bouncing on his chest. “Tech, Tech, play!” The little piglet squealed and Techno yawned, glancing at the clock sitting on a chest next to his bed. Grimacing when he realised it wasn’t even seven in the morning yet, Techno decided to get his own revenge and snaked a hand towards his oblivious daughter’s side. Immediately, the small child yelped and descended into shrieking laughter as Techno dug his fingers relentlessly into her side and wiggled them. “That’s what you get for waking me up so early in the morning, you little brat.” Arielle continued to scream out her glee, trying to squirm away from the tickling fingers, and Techno sat up, not even noticing the wild grin crossing his face. 

Techno only stopped his assault when the small child’s voice started to grow strained. He slipped from the bed, ruffling his sleep-mussed hair as he went around the base, lighting all the candles on the wall to illuminate their cavern. Arielle rolled into her stomach on the bed, still giggling with a giant grin on her face, and if anyone else had seen it, they’d have surely commented on how similar it looked to her father’s own. Techno glanced back at her, meeting bright gold eyes that watched him as he pottered about the cavern, getting ready for the day. Within ten minutes he was dressed in a soft white shirt and basic brown pants, hair tucked behind his head with a pair of simple braids. Arielle meanwhile didn’t move an inch, curling into the sheets on her father’s bed and cooing happily. At the noise, Techno glanced over from where he was lacing up his shoes and smiled at the sight. A quiet rumble echoed from his chest, and for those who didn’t know better, they might have thought it to be a purr.

“Come on then, let me feel that forehead.” Techno wandered back over to Arielle, crouching down and placing the back of his hand against the smiling infant’s forehead. The skin that met his hand was pleasantly cool against his own warmer complexion, and Techno hummed in satisfaction. “Well, it seems like you’re all better now, Arielle.” The little child grinned up at Techno, all but vibrating from excess energy, and the warrior had the sudden realisation that he'd have to deal with a hyperactive toddler now that she’d gotten over her illness from a few days before. ‘Oh no.’  
“All betta’, Tech!” Arielle crowed, shimmying herself off the bed. Techno quickly grabbed her arm to keep her steady when the little girl toppled over with a squeak, a sheet wrapped around her leg, but it didn’t seem to bother her. “Right, time for breakfast.” Techno murmured, letting go of his daughter's tiny wrist as she cheered and raced into the second room, kicking off the sheet from her legs and leaving it strewn across the floor. “Breakfas’!” Techno just sighed and watched her go, feeling the tension that had been plaguing him for the last several days finally leak from his frame. His daughter was no longer ill, she was fine, and as Techno followed her into the second room of their small, cramped home, he prayed to any who would listen that she would stay that way for a long long time.

Chapter Text

Dream squinted up at the sun, watching as the fluffy clouds drifted lazily through the sky. A contented smile slipped onto his face and he sighed happily. “Hail, hornungbróðor.” Dream scowled, sitting up quickly and meeting the mischievous green eyes of the man walking towards him. His hair was a mass of black curls on his head, twisting around his ears and down the nape of his neck, and a puckered scar split his right eyebrow in half and narrowly avoided his eye. His skin was white like snow, pale lips twisted into an amused grin, and immediately the expression lit a fire in Dream’s chest.

“Oi, don’t call me that, Haldr!” Dream bit back, but the man just laughed, dropping a hand on Dream’s head and ruffling his hair aggressively.
“Someone’s grumpy today. Still waiting for your blessing to come in, hm?” The man grinned impishly down at him and Dream huffed like a child, crossing his arms over his chest and pointedly looking away. A few seconds of silence passed before the man sat down heavily next to Dream with an ‘oomph’ and knocked gently against the younger boy’s side. “Hey, cheer up! I was way older than you when I got mine; I’d stopped ageing by that point! You’re not even fully grown in mortal standards yet, lytling.” But Dream didn’t respond, instead simply staring into the horizon. 

The field in front of him was in full bloom, wildflowers and azaleas peppering the long grasses. The gentle summer sunlight peeked in and out between the white clouds, warming their home and glinting off of an old wheelbarrow that was half buried in the bushes off to the left. A singular oak tree sat several metres in front of them, a ragged rope swing shifting in the breeze, and Dream blinked as the memories of laughing on a different swing in a different place with her played in front of his eyes. The wind gently caressed through the flora, sometimes blowing a rainbow of petals across the landscape, and Dream had to swallow down a sudden surge of grief, so strong that it took his breath away. “I wish she was here, Haldr.” Dream choked out, blinking rapidly past the tears blurring his vision. There was a beat of silence before the man shuffled closer to him, pulling an arm across his shoulders and drawing the younger boy into his chest. “I know, lytling, I know. She would have wanted to be here too.” 

BEEP

Dream grunted as he pried his eyes open, visions of sunlight and dancing petals slipping away from his awareness. Feeling something wet dripped down his face, Dream frowned when he brushed his fingers against his cheeks and they came away damp with tears. The god blinked owlishly at his hand for a few seconds, face frozen and brow furrowed in confusion. ‘What the-’

BEEP

Groaning, Dream levered himself up in his bed, grasping wildly to his left until his hand collided with his communicator that was still beeping at him. The man rubbed an arm against his eyes to get rid of the lingering drowsiness and moisture before he tapped on his communicator, bringing up his most recent messages and ending the infernal noise. There were several from one of his admins, Sam, simply confirming that an instability from a few days ago had been fixed, and Dream grinned tiredly as he cleared the messages. There were a few from his chat with George and Sapnap, but it was mainly just the pair of them firing insults back and forth and while Dream snorted at a few of them, he didn’t respond. Instead, he switched to the final message he’d received and frowned at who it was from. “Oh boy, what does Techno want now…” Dream scowled as he opened the window, reading the message within.

Technoblade: Babysitting, asap.

Dream stared at the message for a few moments, letting his sleep-addled mind process. However, the moment it sunk in, Dream let out a rumbling groan and slumped backwards, accidentally smacking the back of his head against his bed’s headboard. “Damnit.”

Dream grunted lightly as he dropped into Techno’s base, peering into the dull cavern and allowing his eyes to adjust to the lower light. He’d been there several times in the last few weeks, always at the behest of Techno ‘teaching’ him to babysit Arielle properly, and it never failed to bring a scowl to his face. While he couldn’t complain about the little girl herself (most of the time, anyway), the feeling of being constantly watched by Techno for several hours on end had quickly gotten old. However, no matter how much Dream assured the man that he’d learnt his lesson and knew plenty now in how to look after an infant, Techno wouldn’t relent. Dream was sure the man was just doing it for blackmail now, as he’d seen Techno snickering at him from the corner of his eye several times when Arielle decided she wanted to be a little demon and did everything from throw a tantrum to steal any number of Dream’s belongings (and sometimes Techno’s) and take off with them. The toddler was far too fast for her size, according to him, and evidently Techno had been teaching her how to hide properly, as half the time it took the man himself intervening on Dream’s behalf to find her again. However, the worst part was that Dream couldn’t exactly dispute Techno’s claims, since Dream had lost his daughter in the woods; they were all very lucky that she’d remained safe before the god had managed to find her. The masked man didn’t have a leg to stand on in regards to Arielle, and it seemed Techno knew that and was perfectly willing to take advantage of it.

Dream stepped lightly into the base, not immediately spotting the pair of pinketts that he was looking for. However, hushed conversation in the second room of the base drew his attention and Dream relaxed. Shrugging off his axe from his back, Dream placed it in an enclosed cubby behind a handful of chests that had been made specifically to keep Arielle away from her father and babysitter’s very sharp, very dangerous weapons. Padding forward, Dream made sure to place his feet down a little harder than he would ordinarily, announcing his presence before he entered, lest he have his head taken off. He was rewarded with a brief stutter in Techno’s voice before his murmurs continued.

Dream entered the second room quietly, eyes narrowing in on Techno and Arielle, who were seated on the floor in the back of the room. Arielle was perched cross legged on a pillow to protect her from the ground and her back was to one of Techno’s many bookcases. Sat next to her, directly on the cold stone floor, Techno also leaned against the bookshelves, barely even glancing up when Dream entered. A book was on the floor in front of the pair, but while Techno seemed rather calm, if not slightly impatient, Arielle’s look of frustration was raw and growing by the second. Dream winced; that expression was always a recipe for disaster on the small child’s face. 

“Hey Techno, Ari.” Dream called and was gratified when Arielle’s head shot up, a beaming grin on her face.
“Dee!” Arielle squealed, clambering off of her pillow and all but tripping over herself in her haste to greet the man. Dream laughed and crouched down, meeting Arielle in a hug with little to no hesitation. He’d gotten used to the copious amount of physical affection Arielle always shoved in his face, and no longer did he reflexively shy away from her touch. She didn’t even register on his senses as a threat any longer, thankfully, and so Dream rarely had to worry about harming her if she ever managed to sneak up on him; she’d had little success thus far, although not for a lack of trying.

Arielle lifted her head from Dream's shoulder and took a step back, her face alight with mischief, and Dream had but a moment for dread to drop into his stomach before he felt the comforting weight of his mask drop from his face. Jolting a little in shock, Dream reared back just in time for Arielle to snatch the mask from his face and run back to her father, giggling with her prize. Dream blinked at her for a beat before his face crumpled in affectionate exasperation. He glanced at Techno and seeing the proud smirk on his face, snorted as he straightened up. “Careful there Tech, you’ll give her an ego with that look.” Dream teased, getting a flat stare back.
“Her success is ‘cause you’re getting rusty, Dream. I saw that look on your face, Arielle got that mask from you without you even noticing.” Techno smirked at the god, who scowled as he sat himself on the ground opposite to the father and daughter, creating a triangle between them.
“Oh har har, Techno.” Dream muttered back, and Techno just rolled his eyes. 

Dream leaned back with a sigh, his back resting gently against the enchantment table behind him. The man couldn’t help but close his eyes for a few moments, letting the magic of the table wash through him briefly. A small tug on his leg brought him back to the earth, and ignoring the presence of Techno getting up to wander to a different bookshelf across the room, Dream cracked an eye open. Curious golden eyes stared back, a question in their depths, and Dream lifted his head to face the little girl properly. 

Only a few moments later, Techno wandered back over to see Arielle sat in Dream’s lap, showing the man the starter book Techno had managed to find for her with far too much glee. It was as if the few moments beforehand of frustrated babbling hadn’t even happened. Huffing softly in amusement, Techno sat back down with a grunt, flicking open the new book to try and find a page with some words that Arielle could potentially start to learn. The previous book hadn’t lasted long before Arielle had gotten bored, and while Techno was somewhat worried that he’d begun trying to teach his daughter to read too early, he was determined to get a head start on her education. The situation with Manberg and Pogtopia was in a tentative stalemate for now, but Techno knew his brother; Wilbur was never the most patient of people, and his deteriorating mindset couldn’t possibly be helping matters. Who knew when he decided to declare war, leaving Techno with little to no time to teach his daughter? No, better to start now than never get the chance.

“C’mere Arielle. I’ve got another book for you, we can try this one.” Arielle spun around in Dream’s lap and aimed a truly vicious looking scowl at Techno. The father just stared back cooly, having gotten used to his daughter’s dramatics. After a few moments, Arielle huffed petulantly but did climb from Dream’s lap, stomping over to her pillow and sitting down heavily to sulk. Techno just rumbled a warning, ignoring Dream’s inquiring look, and that settled Arielle, who let out a little whine in apology. 

“Hmm, she responds to you when you do that more than she should.” Dream muttered quietly, a pensive look on his face, but Techno just waved him off.
“Nah, it’s pretty normal for piglets her age to be way more in tune with their instincts, and then that calms down as they grow.” However, Dream didn’t look reassured, and Techno felt himself begin to tense at the god’s reaction, or lack thereof.
“Yeah I guess, you’re the expert, but it just seems odd. Technically she’s a second generation piglin, so she should have barely any traits of one. Instead she looks and acts more like a first gen’. You don’t see Tommy or Wilbur constantly acting like that, and you’d never know looking at them that they were hybrids.” Techno began to frown as he mulled Dream’s words over, even while keeping half his attention on his daughter, who was slowly flicking through the second book Techno had found for her (not that she was truly reading it).
“I get where you’re coming from, Dream, but neither of us have seen a second gen’ piglin before. This could just be how they are. No point worrying ‘till something’s wrong.” Judging by the look on Dream’s face, he didn’t exactly agree, but he let the matter drop anyway.

Techno shook those worrying thoughts from his head and instead turned to Dream with a wicked grin on his face. “Right then, since you decided to turn up late,-” Dream squawked at that, but Techno steamrolled right over him. “-you get to help Arielle with her reading now!” Techno watched as Dream glanced at Arielle, took one look at her petulant face, and turned several shades paler. Techno just smirked wider as Dream shot him a panicked look. “Chop chop, Dream!” 
“I hate you so much.”

Chapter Text

Dream stared despairingly at Arielle as she ‘hmphed’ and crossed her arms over her chest, pointedly looking away from the book in her lap. He’d been trying to coax her to read for the last thirty minutes but no matter how he explained it and how many times, it just didn’t seem like she wanted to cooperate any longer. It didn’t help that the books were boring sheets of text with no pictures or anything interesting on them; they just didn’t hold her attention. Instead, for the first ten minutes she’d been resolutely fiddling with his mask, to the point where he’d taken it from her. Unfortunately, all that had done was lead to the child snarling at him until Techno had piped up behind him with a growl, which settled her down. Then, she’d just decided to ignore him. “This is not working, Techno!” Dream glanced behind him and hissed at the warrior, watching with narrowed eyes as the pinkett simply turned another page in his book. He was perched on the edge of the enchantment table, a pair of black glasses on his face, and seemed perfectly content to leave Dream to struggle alone. “You just need to explain it in a different way.” Techno drawled, and by the light smirk on his face, he knew exactly how unhelpful that advice was.

“Aþreotan cifesboren.” Dream muttered under his breath, brows furrowed as he went back over his plan of action- “Ow!” Dream yelped as Techno’s book slapped him on the head. Whipping around, Dream glared at Techno, only to meet unamused red eyes staring back. “No swearing in front of Arielle, Dream. Seriously, she’s a child.” Dream rolled his eyes and turned back around, facing Arielle who was watching him curiously, head slightly cocked to the side. “Okay so-” Dream paused as realisation crashed through his mind with the force of a lightning bolt. He ran the previous five seconds over in his head, eyes widening and muscles tensing as he thought over exactly what had just happened.

Techno paused in his reading as he noticed Dream staring at him, green eyes blown wide and body tensed as if he was about to run into battle. “What?” Techno snapped, not quite unable to hide the confusion and wariness in his tone.
“Techno!” Dream hissed, turning to face him more fully, and Techno hurriedly placed his book down on the table. 
“What?!”
“You understood me!” Techno paused, thinking back to what just happened and not quite understanding Dream’s alarm. 
“Yeah? So what?” Dream just stared at him, mouth agape.
“Techno! That wasn’t english!” Techno frowned down at the borderline-panicking man. He wasn’t sure what Dream was going on about; yeah, the words sounded a bit like he was hearing them through static, which was odd, but they must have been in English since Techno didn’t speak any other language but piglin and it certainly wasn’t that- Techno froze, expression falling to mirror Dream’s. “What the hell?!” Techno whispered. He looked at Arielle, who was glancing between them with a confused furrow to her brow, and then met Dream’s gobsmacked eyes. “Dream- Dream, say something else.” Techno demanded, and Dream swallowed.
“Uh- right, yeah sure. Uh, bēo hāl? Wes gesund? Hálettung?” Techno snorted, pinning Dream with an amused stare.
“Really? Who the hell says ‘salutation’ these days?” Dream just shrugged, body almost vibrating. He didn’t even rise to the bait; instead his face began to lift until there was almost an awed grin on his face, and for a lack of a better term, Techno could only say he looked excited. “This is insane. No-one’s ever understood before, what the hell-” 

Techno just watched as Dream descended into muttering, eyes wide. Techno met the equally confused stare of his daughter and beckoned her over. She stumbled over to him quickly and Techno didn’t hesitate to lift her into his lap, still spooked about the entire situation. “Dream- Dream. Focus, Dream!” The god’s head whipped around, pausing mid-rant. “What is that language Dream? And why the hell can I understand it?” That seemed to snap Dream out of his excited fervour and his body slumped, brow furrowing. “Huh, what? Yeah wait, how do you understand it? That doesn’t make any sense-” Techno rolled his eyes, hoping that he’d at least be able to get one question answered that day.

“Dream, what is that language?” Techno stressed again, and thankfully this time he seemed to get through the god sitting on his floor.
“It’s the g- the magic language. I know it because of my godly… stuff.” Techno noticed Dream’s stutter, but while he raised an eyebrow in suspicion, he let the matter drop. It wasn’t worth it to try and interrogate the god when he didn’t want to tell. Techno knew Dream well enough that he would tell him if it was a serious problem, but apart from that, he wouldn’t pry. “So… how the hell do I know it?” Dream paused, looking almost nervous before his attention caught on the enchanting table. He glanced between it and Techno once, twice, before frowning. “Hm. Well it could be how much enchanting you’ve done. The magic might have affected you.” Evidently seeing Techno’s alarmed glance at Arielle, who had started fussing in his lap after the excitement died down, Dream hurried to continue. “Oh, no, don’t worry, it's harmless. Ambient magic like that wouldn’t do anything bad. Plus Ari would have to be around it way longer than she has for it to do anything. Probably several years at least. She’ll be fine.” Techno relaxed a fraction, but if Dream saw him perch further on the edge of the table, as if to get further away from it, then he didn’t say anything.

“So it’s nothing to worry about?” Techno asked again, and Dream shook his head.
“Nah, it’s harmless. You’ll probably never speak it like I can; you can just understand it. Might even go away on its own.” Techno just nodded, and while he got the distinct impression that Dream wasn’t being exactly truthful, he accepted the explanation for what it was. Glancing down at Arielle on his lap, who had moved on from trying to wiggle away from him to fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, Techno took that acceptance back. He wasn’t willing to risk her potential safety, no matter if Dream said it was safe or not. Plus if Dream didn’t want to tell him, well, it didn’t mean he couldn’t do his own research to get to the answer himself.

Techno sighed as he slumped into the chair next to his bed, eyes trained on the still form of Arielle in her own bed. He’d finally managed to corral the tiny child into going to sleep and now that his mind wasn’t occupied by her, it finally started drifting back to Dream and his discovery a few hours prior. The worry flooded back into his mind, pulling his lips down in a frown. He’d never claimed to be the most normal of people; being a hybrid was one thing but his aptitude for battle and Chat’s existence tipped the scales even further away from normality than he already was. However, that didn’t mean that he was exactly comfortable with the idea of there being yet another thing about himself that didn’t make any sense. It didn’t help either that Dream was clearly being cagey about the subject; he’d clammed up almost immediately after his less-than-satisfactory explanation, deflecting questions like a pro, and Techno had been forced to pause in his attempts to continue the topic, lest Arielle decide to start complaining about the lack of attention. He’d quickly forgotten about the subject in favour of watching Dream try and fail to keep his daughter entertained; a feat which had backfired spectacularly, since it left Techno with a far too excitable child come night time. However, now that she was finally asleep, Techno had the opportunity to do some digging himself.

Standing up and heading back into his mini-library, Techno scanned the shelves for any books that could even hint at a ‘magic language’. However, after almost a full hour of checking every magic book he’d managed to procure on the server, he had to admit defeat. He didn’t expect to find anything, since he’d picked up each and every book himself, and read most of them as well, but the failure still gnawed at him. “You’d think a magic language would be a little more prevalent in books about magic.” Techno muttered to himself, flipping the final book shut with a sigh.

“Divine language.”

Techno paused, frowning as Chat piped up unexpectedly in his mind. It was rare for the voices to get involved in anything that wasn’t either mocking him or battle, so for them to start talking now was a change in character Techno wasn’t sure how to feel about. “What, Chat?”

“Divine language.”
“Not for mortals!”
“Staticy-static!”
“No books, no knowledge, secret!”
“Seeeecret!”
“Shhh!”

Techno frowned as Chat descended into shh-ing fits, crowing and giggling like children in his mind. “What the hell are you lot going on about?” Techno hissed, but Chat ignored him. Eventually, they settled down again, but Techno was not satisfied. “Chat, answer me! What are you talking about?” Techno snapped, but Chat didn’t respond. Sighing, Techno pinched the bridge of his nose before turning sharply on his heel and heading to bed. “Divine language, huh. Probably to do with the magic. It helped me understand, maybe?” Techno shook his head in confusion, for some reason feeling as if that explanation was lacking. Something was missing, something crucial that was blocking his understanding, but he doubted he was going to get anywhere else tonight. Exhaling and letting his muscles relax, Techno slumped into bed and let the darkness take him away.

Meanwhile, Dream paced around the kitchen in his home, a hand clenched in his hair and body buzzing with nervous energy. His mind just couldn’t settle from the thoughts of what had happened earlier that day in Techno’s base, replaying the moment over and over until Dream had abandoned his work to try and let out some of his restless energy. “It makes no sense! Techno isn’t a god, I would know that, and he can’t be a god-blessed; I would have seen the signs, at least.” Dream halted and groaned, sick of running himself in circles. He wasn’t sure what was more worrying, the fact that Techno could somehow understand the language of the gods, or that since one mortal could, others also potentially could. For thousands of years, that language had been completely incomprehensible to mortals, but now that seemed to be changing. Or at least, that was the only conclusion Dream could come to. 

Dream paused. “Actually, now that I think about it…” He murmured, casting his mind back to the day when he delved into Arielle’s lineage. It felt like a lifetime ago, with all the changes that had occurred since, but in reality it had only been a few months. He recalled how Techno’s mother had a strange… almost taint to her soul. It wasn’t malevolent, nor at all harmful, but it wasn’t exactly natural to her either. It felt too other to be mortal, and snapping his fingers, Dream came to a realisation. “That must be it. Something to do with her. Maybe she was an acolyte of a god, and their blessing passed to Techno?” Dream mused, calming down now that he actually had a working theory to go off of. It was much better than the fear that mortals were beginning to gain the ability to learn such a dangerously powerful language. 

While Dream couldn’t claim him and Techno were friends, the past few months had them spending far more time together than before and so Dream could confidently say that he knew Techno far better than anyone else in his world, bar maybe Tommy and Wilbur. He knew enough to tentatively say that Techno probably wouldn’t try to use the language against him, not that he would be powerful enough to do so against a god. Dream relaxed finally as he realised he wasn’t all that upset about Techno potentially being able to learn the language, since the god hadn’t been able to speak it with anyone for nearly three centuries. “Out of everyone on here, at least it is Techno. I can’t imagine what would happen if someone like Schlatt got a hold of it.” Dream shuddered at the thought before wandering back over to his desk, mumbling. “Plus, it’s not like he can learn on his own, right? He doesn’t exactly have anyone else on the server who knows it and could teach him, so it’s fine.”

(Techno jolted awake that night with a gasp as it felt like the entirety of Chat sneezed in unison in his mind. Snorting quietly at the odd sensation and shaking his head to clear the ringing, he glanced at the still sleeping Arielle before promptly rolling over and going back to sleep himself.)

Chapter Text

Dream sighed as he loitered around the entrance to the Pogtopian ravine while dutifully trying to make it seem like he was doing anything but. The sack of TNT, the last of what he was willing to give to Wilbur for the revolution, was a heavy weight over his shoulder and he quickly adjusted his grip in order to lessen the tension in his hand. He’d been called to Pogtopia by an all-too-gleeful sounding Wilbur, asking for the TNT, and since Dream had already promised the man the supplies, he’d agreed. Techno had been mainly looking after Arielle for the past two weeks, but had finally deemed Dream ‘ready’ to look after Arielle on her own. However, that didn’t mean that it happened all that often. Dream had only been called to keep an eye on her for a handful of hours at a time, and only twice that week, so Dream had had nothing better to do when he’d gotten the call. Of course, the sight of the caller ID made the god grimace, but he couldn’t just not pick up. Well, he could have, but he needed some kind of insight into Pogtopia after not meeting with its members for several months. Schlatt’s security was thankfully dreadful, so getting to someplace high to spy over his land was trivial. Pogtopia, being located underground with only one entrance, was not so easy to gather information on. Therefore, when Wilbur called, Dream knew he had to take the call. It didn’t mean he had to like it though.

Dream peered down when his communicator flashed, and he quickly tapped on the message he’d received from Wilbur. 

Wilbur: You can come down now. The room is prepared.

Dream rolled his eyes at the dramatic message before stuffing his communicator back into his pocket and unhooking his shovel from his belt. It took no time at all to carve away the small entrance to Pogtopia and replace it again, and soon Dream found himself carefully walking down the crude staircase into the gloom of the ravine. The lanterns inside were doing a minimal job in lighting the place up, and while Dream had no problems seeing in the low light, he wondered how on earth the humans of the group could see at all. Then he remembered that the majority of Pogtopia’s members were at least second or third gen hybrids, and stopped wondering.

“Dream! Welcome, my friend! It has been a while.” Wilbur’s voice echoed to his left, and Dream turned around in time to watch the man walk out from a nearby doorway. The god could immediately tell that Wilbur had not improved at all in the time between their last meeting, and in fact seemed to be worse. His curly brown hair was long and greasy, nearly hanging over his eyes, and his coat looked even more tattered than before. A few extra stitched patches had been added to the ratty garment, and Wilbur’s beanie was more a faded brown than the pleasant maroon it had been before. The man’s hands were trembling slightly where he was holding them out in a mockery of a grand greeting, and were almost entirely grey from the amount of dust engulfing them. In fact, the entire man seemed to be covered head to toe in dust, and Dream raised an eyebrow at the sight. 

“What have you been doing, Wilbur? You’re caked in dust.” Wilbur let out a very strange sounding giggle, seemingly hysterical, but Dream could see the small spiderwebbed cracks in the man’s expression. All it would take was one small push and he’d come crumbling down like a house of cards, but Dream held off for now. No point removing him from the running and destroying the Revolution. While Dream certainly wasn’t Wilbur’s biggest fan, he liked him a hell of a lot more than he did Schlatt. He’d take the lesser of two evils, and if that meant not driving Wilbur into a mental breakdown, then so be it. Plus, Dream really didn’t want to deal with pissing Techno off again, and while he knew the warrior wasn’t exactly as close to his brothers as he used to be, he knew him well enough to see that family was everything to him, even his estranged brothers. Driving one into insanity probably wouldn’t win him any brownie points with the man.

“Ah, just prepping some more… tunnels, I guess you could call them, for the inevitable big boom! And I take it that sack on your shoulder is the merchandise?” Wilbur pointed at Dream’s shoulder like a child excited after spotting some sweets. Dream nodded, wandering forward and following Wilbur into the room when the unstable man turned around. “Yep. This is the stuff. Highest grade of TNT I could find. There shouldn’t be any worries about it exploding in your face in Pogtopia before you’re ready to use it.” Wilbur’s eyes gained a glint that Dream couldn’t quite place.
*“That probably wouldn’t be such a terrible outcome all things considered.” The brunet mumbled, and from the way he shot a look at Dream when the man stiffened at his words, Dream probably wasn’t meant to hear.*

“Here’s the place, Dream! It’s a secure room, none of my other nosy… compatriots should be able to get in here. The TNT will be safe from being stolen here.” Wilbur carried on hurriedly, covering up the widening cracks with a mask so flawless, anyone other than Dream would have missed them. Dream peered around the room, stifling his shocked and slightly horrified reaction when looking at the rest of the TNT stacks high from floor to ceiling in the room. ‘That's… a lot more TNT than I gave him.’ Dream stared at the collection, trying to ignore the dread building in his stomach.
“Come on Dream, chop chop! The Revolution waits for no-one!” Obligingly, Dream tore his gaze from the death sticks and began carefully placing the sack of TNT down before removing each stick and passing it to Wilbur. The brunet then started piling it up in the only free corner in the room, grinning to himself the whole time. 

Thankfully, it didn’t take the pair more than ten minutes to empty the sack, and Dream stood up from his crouch afterwards, slinging the now empty satchel over his shoulder. “Well, that’s it Wilbur. I’ll be off.” Dream turned around to leave the room, but before he could move, a hand gripped his wrist so tightly that he hissed. Head jerking around, the god met Wilbur’s shattered brown eyes and froze, wondering what on earth was going on. “Dream. If we need more resources, you’ll provide, right?” Wilbur asked, voice hushed, and if not for the gleeful tilt of the man’s lips, Dream would have thought that he was a sane, if not desperate, man. Unfortunately, he knew better. “I did say I’d support you guys from the shadows.” Dream said carefully, and if Wilbur’s displeased frown was anything to go by, he’d caught the intentional wording of that statement.

“Yes, fine, but say if I need more of the good stuff. You know, boom.” Wilbur mimed a small explosion with his hands, thankfully letting Dream go in the process. Dream frowned, taking a step back. “I don’t have any more TNT, Wilbur. You have enough here already to blow up Manberg, and then some.” Wilbur scowled, fingers clenching into fists and then unclenching rapidly with his annoyance. “Fine. What about some good old gunpowder? For Techno’s fireworks, you see. He’ll need a lot of them for the upcoming fight.” Dream blinked, opening his mouth to agree to the rather innocent seemingly request, before he paused.
‘Wait… I know Techno doesn’t need gunpowder for fireworks. He has a whole barrel of the stuff buried into the wall in his back room, as far away from everything as possible in case it ignites.’ Dream mused to himself. However, while he knew Wilbur was trying to trick him (and failing), Dream couldn’t just say why he knew. There was no feasible reason for him to be visiting Techno enough to know that he had plenty of gunpowder, and he wasn’t about to spill the existence of both Arielle and Techno’s secret base to the one man who couldn’t ever find out. Since he had no reason, Dream also couldn’t just turn Wilbur down. He’d said that he would support them, and if he said no, Wilbur would make him out to be a liar. Dream scowled as he realised he was stuck, but kept any tells from escaping his masked face.

“Yeah sure. Just give me a while to gather some more. I’m completely out after giving it all to a blacksmith to craft into this.” Dream gestured to the TNT-filled room, and Wilbur grinned. 
“Perfect! I’ll call you when I need it.” Dream was about to interject, to say that actually Wilbur would get it when Dream had it, but seeing the manic light in Wilbur’s eyes, Dream swallowed his retort and internally sighed. He wouldn’t get anywhere with it anyway.

Watching while Wilbur finished blocking up the room, Dream was about to call out his goodbyes and scarper as quickly as possible, when two pairs of footsteps walked towards him. Dream spun around to face them, taking in the gaunt and cold faces of Niki and Tommy as they approached, and winced. This wasn’t going to be fun.

“Ah, Niki, Tommy. My friend Dream here just delivered a new batch of supplies for the revolution!” Wilbur crowed, looking far too pleased with himself, and Dream braced for the inevitable Tommy explosion. The boy had already confronted Dream about the TNT before, but back then, Dream had been fully on board with Wilbur’s plan. Now though, seeing how insane the man had grown? The doubt was starting to seep in. As he predicted, Tommy whipped to Dream, eyes narrowing. However, he didn’t start screaming. “Don’t you have enough TNT already?” Tommy ground out, eyes flinty, and Dream watched as Niki placed her hand on the younger boy’s shoulder as comfort. Her brown eyes flicked from Dream to Wilbur, as if trying to identify the biggest threat, before eventually settling on Wilbur. “Yes, I’d like to know the answer to that one as well, Wilbur.” Niki said, her voice deceptively soft and yet it held enough presence to make even Wilbur’s grin falter into a more genuine expression of annoyance.
“Well, better to have more than not enough!” Tommy actually full on growled at that, a few clicking noises slipping through that Dream knew he gained from his father’s heritage. Wilbur simply laughed, a teasing, melodic whistle to his tone that Dream had heard before once or twice. Of course, Wilbur usually made it in response to his brother’s affectionately angry chirps, so hearing it underneath such a deranged laugh was unsettling to Dream. Tommy evidently thought so as well, if the utterly shattered expression that shot through his face before he stormed off was anything to go by. Niki waited for a few moments, staring at Dream, before turning away with one last comment. “You’re to blame for this Dream. You.” Niki stated before stalking off to follow Tommy and the god bit back the angry retort dancing on his lips. As Dream watched her go, he caught sight of Tubbo peering at them from a balcony halfway up the ravine. Dream met his gaze steadily for several moments before Tubbo whirled around back into the doorway he came from.

Dream turned around and met the slightly puzzled gaze of Wilbur, who immediately slammed his happy mask back on when Dream looked. “Well, that went well.” Dream commented. Wilbur just began to cackle.

Dream held his breath as he plummeted down the chute into Techno’s base, calling out a greeting as he landed. Straightening up, Dream shook the last of the water from his boots before proceeding into the room and through a new doorway to the left that had appeared sometime between two of his visits in the last few weeks. The inside had been set up as a sort of bedroom, with a fireplace towards the back and two beds, one much smaller than the other, standing against the left wall. On the right was a small wooden table that looked as if it had been cobbled together from half a dozen different pieces of wood, and two chairs which were in similar states. A rug made of what Dream assumed was some kind of wolf pelt covered the floor in front of the fire, and Dream had sat there many times, entertaining Arielle on it while she played. All in all, it looked like someone had combined a bedroom, living room and a kitchen together into the same small space, and while it was cramped, it was significantly more comfortable than the other two rooms Techno had started with. 

“Hey Techno! How are-” Dream paused, blinking owlishly at the sight before him. “-you…?” In front of him, Techno and Arielle were both sitting on the floor, the latter squirming as much as her little body could allow. A very familiar scowl sat on her face, mirrored almost perfectly by her father, as the man tried to wrestle her into what Dream assumed to be a new shirt. Glancing around the room, Dream took in the sewing supplies strewn across the table, as well as bundles of fabric curled into balls on the larger of the two beds. 

“NO!” Arielle’s small voice rang out, snapping Dream’s attention back to the pair. Techno just growled, but instead of submitting, Arielle just snarled back. “No no NO!” She screamed again, twisting almost completely out of Techno’s hold.
“Hold still , Arielle! It’s just a shirt!” Techno barked out, but the little girl was having none of it. Dream smirked at the sight, leaning against the wall to watch the show. Unfortunately, Techno’s situational awareness, even while trying to wrangle a small, screaming child, was impeccable, and he noticed Dream’s presence immediately. The warrior glanced over to Dream, eyes narrowing, before turning back to the screaming child with a sudden contemplative expression on his face. Seeing it, Dream instantly straightened, preparing himself. “Arielle, if you let me put this on you, you can have Dream’s mask. Deal?” Dream wrinkled his nose at his mask being used as a bargaining chip, but didn’t protest. It was a common tactic the both of them used, since the little girl seemed enamoured with the piece of porcelain since she’d first laid her eyes on it.

Arielle immediately paused, small face scrunching while trying to make her decision. Her eyes scrutinised her father for lies, her face looking so much like his that it made Dream hide a smile. “Mask?” She babbled angrily, evidently not spotting the offered peace item. Techno just pointed to Dream, and as she followed his gaze, her face lit up upon seeing him and all traces of anger evaporated like water in the desert. “Dee!” Arielle crowed, smiling, and Dream waved back. It was at this point that Techno finally managed to manhandle the distracted child into the shirt with a smirk of triumph. “Mask!” Arielle demanded, making grabby hands at Dream’s face. Techno frowned and gently tapped Arielle on the head, getting her attention. “What do we say?”
“Please!” Techno smiled at Arielle while Dream hesitated, feeling that familiar curl of anxiety swirl in his gut. However, one glance at a stone-faced Techno staring back at him had him unclipping the white mask from his face with a sigh. “Fine, fine. Here you go Ari.” Dream passed the mask over, Arielle all but snatching it from his grip and pressing it against her chest with a happy babble.

Techno slumped in obvious relief, sighing, and Dream smirked at the exhaustion on his face. Unfortunately, since Dream’s mask was now firmly in Arielle’s arms, Techno saw the expression and scowled at him. “Shut up.” Dream held up his hands placatingly, but the amusement on his face didn’t waver. “I didn’t say anything!” Dream all but sang playfully. Techno shot him a venomous glare but Dream disregarded it with the ease of someone who’d seen that same expression countless times and no longer had any problems ignoring it. Instead, the god simply sauntered towards the table and grabbed a chair, spinning it around and trying to ignore its ominous creaking when he sat down on it backwards. Resting his chin on the back of the chair, Dream watched as Techno managed to snag Arielle’s attention with a clearly hand-made set of plush dolls. Dream knew he hadn’t made them himself; while Techno was adept at making clothes, he wasn’t that good, not that he would admit it. No, Dream had spotted them in the warrior’s saddle bags when he’d returned after a day out, where he technically should have been working with Pogtopia but clearly hadn’t been. Dream had been forced to look after Arielle for the day after that as well (not that he would admit that his answer wouldn’t have been different even if he did have a choice), but seeing the awed look on Arielle’s face when she spotted the dolls had been completely worth it. 

Finally, Arielle was sufficiently distracted by smashing the dolls together and babbling, for Techno to turn his attention to Dream, who was still lounging on the chair to the side of the room. The fire had remained roaring in the grate the entire time and the warmth was sending the man right off to sleep. Spotting this, Techno huffed before stalking over and tipping the chair forward slightly, causing Dream to jolt with a squawk. “Oi, you ass.” Techno just snorted.
“What do you want, Dream?” Dream just stared at him with affront, huffing.
“You think so little of me that I can’t just come for a visit?” Dream asked dramatically, but Techno just raised a single eyebrow. There was silence for a few beats before Dream cracked a grin and Techno huffed, an amused smirk on his face. “Fine, fine. You might want to sit down for this one though.” Techno frowned as Dream drew himself up, a serious expression sliding into place on his face. Techno gently sat himself down on the second chair and turned it to face the god, who stared back at him with eyes that did nothing to hide the age behind them. “So, we have a problem. It’s about Pogtopia.” Techno’s eyebrows shot up, but Dream’s expression didn’t even twitch. 

“I don’t think they’re going to last much longer.”

Chapter Text

Techno frowned as Dream stared back, expression more serious than he’d seen in a long time. “What do you mean, ‘won’t last much longer’? I know they have enough supplies and they better not have managed to destroy my farm in the last two days since I’ve been there…” Techno trailed off, crossing his arms over his chest when Dream shook his head.
“Nah, supplies wise they’re probably fine. You know more about that than me.” Dream waved an arm in Techno’s direction. “No, it’s… it’s more how they acted that has me… concerned. Only for the revolution, of course!” Dream tacked on at the end, and Techno snorted while Chat tittered in the back of his mind, shamelessly eavesdropping on their conversation. The unknown entity(ies?) had become a lot more active in Dream’s presence since the debacle with the strange language (something which neither man had brought up again but also hadn’t forgotten about) and Techno wasn’t sure yet if that was a good thing or not. 

“Right… Dream you’re not exactly a psychologist.” Techno deadpanned, causing Dream to bristle.
“I know that Techno. It’s just pretty obvious that something’s wrong when Wilbur, Tommy and Niki start squaring up like they’re about to start duking it out right in front of me, and Tubbo looks like he hasn’t even left his room for the last week, at least!” Techno watches Dream rant, alarm bells slowly beginning to reach a crescendo in his mind. Sure, he’d noticed that Tommy and Niki hadn’t exactly been friendly with Wilbur for the last few times he’d been there, but they hadn’t given Techno the time of day either! He hadn’t seen Tubbo at all, but he’d assumed that he was staying well away from the pigman hybrid, which the warrior couldn’t exactly begrudge him for. And sure, the tension in that ravine could probably be cut with a knife, but they were all part of a revolution! It’s not like they were all there to have fun and make friends. War wasn’t exactly peaceful, after all. However, if things really had escalated to the point that Niki and Tommy, of all people, were being openly hostile towards Wilbur…

“No wonder I didn’t see it.” Techno murmured, cutting Dream off mid rant.
“What?” Dream asked, but Techno ignored him, too caught in the sudden realisation he’d just had.
“Wilbur always stays close to me when I’m in that ravine, and since Tommy and Niki tend to avoid me most of the time, no wonder I didn’t see anything wrong. Wilbur was using me as a damn shield.” Techno all but growled. Dream fell still at that, eyes gaining a glint that looked suspiciously like sympathy as he watched the warrior grind his teeth. To find out that his own brother probably didn’t even value his company, but instead was simply using his reputation as a way to stay in control of a war that he all but dragged Techno into… Dream winced. 

“Techno… no matter what he’s doing, Wilbur’s tearing Pogtopia apart.” Techno didn’t reply apart from shooting to his feet and beginning to pace, five steps one way before turning around and repeating. His eyes were narrowed into slits, fists clenched, and Dream didn’t think the warrior had even noticed the vicious snarl of anger and pain that had twisted his face. So caught up in his own rage, Techno also didn’t notice when Arielle toddled up to him and latched onto his leg, but Dream did. Dream tensed immediately, preparing to leap forward as Techno snapped around, just in case the warrior had lost himself to his anger and didn’t recognise his daughter. Thankfully however, as Techno laid eyes on the little girl, some of the tension seemed to drain from him. Huffing out a growly sigh, Techno bent down and effortlessly scooped Arielle off the ground. The little girl shrieked in glee before latching onto Techno’s shirt, rubbing her face into his neck and making a noise not unlike a purr. Dream did nothing but watch, flabbergasted, as whatever Arielle was doing immediately calmed the irate warrior. His expression softened, his muscles relaxing, and he slumped back into the chair he’d vacated with a grunt.

Silence reigned for a few moments, Dream shifting uneasily as he watched Techno come to terms with the information the god had shared. Arielle had drifted into a light doze, still clutching at her father’s shirt and snuffling softly. Dream was loath to restart such an emotionally charged conversation, but before he could even open his mouth, Techno tipped his head back with a groan. “We’re gonna’ have to do something about Wil, aren’t we?” The pinkett grumbled, and Dream winced at the resignation in his tone. “Yeah, probably. Otherwise by the time we’re ready for the Revolution, Pogtopia won’t be strong enough to pull it off.”

Dream realised then that himself and Techno had fallen into a pit of complacency since Arielle appeared in their lives. Instead of their days being spent plotting (in Dream’s case) and gathering supplies (in Techno’s case) for the revolution, they were instead being spent around little Arielle, and now the ramifications of that were coming back to bite them. They weren’t nearly as prepared and involved as they needed to be. Dream grimaced as he thought over how easily the little girl had burrowed into his heart. He could probably try and pull away, but he needed Techno’s support in this. They were the two best fighters on the server, plus they were the most neutral in the conflict. They had no personal reasons (or well, beyond Techno fighting for his brothers) that caused messy grudges and so they could operate relatively uncontrolled. Dream knew he needed that, so he couldn’t afford to break away from the pair yet, even if it meant Arielle clutching even tighter onto him.

(Plus, he wasn’t sure but… did he even want to leave?)

“So, I should probably try and talk to him.” Techno spoke the words as if they were acid on his tongue, his face twisted into a grimace, and Dream wondered how on earth Techno could still consider the crazed man a brother when that was the reaction he got from the warrior. 
“He won’t listen to me, that’s for sure. I’m an outsider to him. He’s so paranoid at the moment that I’m more likely to get a blade to the face.” Dream grumbled, and Techno huffed out what could have been a laugh if it wasn’t so devoid of amusement.
“Problem is, Dream, I’m not exactly against what Wil wants to do. Destroy the country, prevent a government, it’s right up my alley.” Techno drawled.
“Yeah I get that, I’m on the same page here, but we won’t even get to that point if we can’t get Wilbur to calm the fuck down and at least try and pretend that blowing up the country isn’t his first plan. That should help with Tommy and Niki, hopefully. If they leave, then it’s all over; you and Wilbur can’t pull off a hostile takeover alone.” Dream responded, sounding as if his mind was churning through possibilities at a million miles per hour, and Techno nodded with his brows furrowed in thought. 

A few moments of silence reigned before Techno groaned, dragging the hand that wasn’t cradling a now-sleeping Arielle down his face in annoyance. “Damn it, this has gotten far more complicated than I thought. I didn’t sign up for this shit.” The man grumbled, and Dream huffed, partly in sympathy and partly in his own annoyance at how quickly the situation had been blown out of proportion.
“Yeah, well the faster we get this sorted out so the Revolution can go ahead, the better. It would be safer for Arielle as well.” Dream retorted, and Techno heaved what felt like the hundredth sigh of their conversation.
“Fine, yes, I’ll try and talk some sense into my idiot brother. You’ll have to take care of Arielle for the day though.” Dream nodded.
“Of course. When do you plan on going down there?” Dream grimaced immediately when his words registered, realising that they sounded as if Techno was about to descend into the depths of the nether rather than visit his brother. However, with their current situation, that wasn’t entirely inaccurate; Dream wouldn’t delude himself into thinking it would be a pleasant conversation. 

“Tomorrow. Get it over and done with.” Techno grunted, and Dream hummed.
“That should be fine. Oh, and just shoot me a message if Wilbur gets… antsy. I’ll be there to back you up if needed.” Techno shot Dream a weird look at that.
“Aww, I didn’t know you cared Dream!” Techno theatrically declared, the first hint of amusement he’d shown the entire conversation twisting his lips into a smirk, and Dream fought valiantly against the embarrassed flush that crept up his face.
‘Well, there goes my reputation.’
“Shut up, you prick.” Dream grumbled. Techno just threw his head back and laughed.

Chapter Text

Techno kept his face carefully blank as he descended into the depths of the Pogtopian ravine. His eyes squinted as they peered through the gloom, although thankfully they adjusted quickly enough to avoid the man potentially taking a tumble down the very dangerous staircase. Techno had been dreading his upcoming conversation with Wilbur ever since his discussion with Dream, not only for the fact that he was historically atrocious in social scenarios. He’d usually always had Wilbur for that, and if all else failed, most people took one look at his clothes, recognised him immediately, and ran in the opposite direction. However, since Wilbur was, for once, the man Techno needed to have said discussion with, and was also his brother, the warrior’s usual tactics in surviving social interactions became null and void. Which left Techno stranded.

‘I hope you’ll appreciate this later, Wil.’ Techno grumbled sarcastically to himself, mentally uttering the words so they didn’t delude him into thinking that way. The likelihood of Techno and Wilbur’s brotherly relationship, or whatever was left of it, coming out unmarred by this future conversation was less than zero. Techno just hoped it didn’t end up being the final straw that broke the camel’s back.

“Techno! My friend! How are you?” Wilbur’s voice echoed across the cavern the moment Techno touched down from the staircase. It rang so loudly that the warrior almost jumped, but even its volume couldn’t hide the slight wobble it contained. In fact, it seemed like Wilbur was trembling head to toe, and Techno couldn’t help but stutter in his stride in concern for a few moments. “Wil? You good?” Techno called out, momentarily putting aside the entire reason for his visit. A lightning-quick frown appeared on Wilbur’s face before it was gone, almost making Techno wonder if he’d even seen it, before the man grinned almost too widely in an effort to cover it up. “Yeah, I’m good! Just a bit cold down here, you know?” Wilbur flung his arms out to the side in a kind of ‘well, what can you do’ gesture, shrugging, and Techno frowned. The ravine was actually particularly warm today, being the height of summer, and even Techno was feeling the heat underneath his cloak. However, the warrior knew better than to draw attention to that. Instead, he just quirked his lips into a makeshift smirk and peered at Wilbur. “Then put a coat on, idiot. Where’s that jacket of yours anyway?” Now that Techno said he, he quickly glanced around to see where on earth the garment had gone. It was the first time Techno had seen Wilbur without it for almost half a year, and he wondered for a single, hysterical moment that it was a bad omen. Wilbur just snorted, a flash of amusement in his dull brown eyes, and Techno managed to spot a moment of the brother he’d grown up with before it was swamped with mania again. 

“Oh it’s around.” Wilbur waved haphazardly. “Anyway, what’s on the agenda today?” Techno opened his mouth to try and divert the conversation in order to breach the subject he needed to, but Wilbur cut him off. “Actually, nevermind, I need you to go grab some more redstone for our plan.” Wilbur rubbed his hands together, and Techno sighed.
“Fine, but about the plan, we need to have a talk about that.” However, Wilbur didn’t seem to take Techno particularly seriously, waving him off.
“Sure, sure. Redstone first.” Techno just watched as Wilbur wandered off, slouching slightly.
“Damnit.” The warrior muttered, before making his way towards the mines. ‘Might as well grab the redstone for him. Might put him in a better mood.’ Techno snorted at the rarely optimistic thought.

Techno huffed as he dumped his third sack of redstone on the ground outside the mines. The warrior hooked his netherite pickaxe back onto his belt before wiping the sweat from his forehead, grimacing at the dust coating his arms. His throat felt like sandpaper and he was plastered in grime. The last thing Techno wanted to do was get into a pissing match with his brother; in fact, his brain was all but screaming at him to go home, take a shower, and then cuddle with his daughter and fall asleep. But Techno knew better; he knew that if he left it be, Pogtopia would end up crumbling around their ears. ‘Gods, Dream has rubbed off on me. Since when was I a meddler?’ Techno quirked a wry grin at that.

“Wil! I got that redstone you wanted.” Techno called, delving into a slight coughing fit a moment later as the dust hit the back of his throat. The warrior’s slightly unhinged brother barreled towards him a moment later, a bright grin on his face, and Techno had to blink as a familiar, old wooden house overtook his vision with memories. If he didn’t know any better, Techno could pretend that it was seven years ago, and Wilbur was greeting him at their home. Then, Wilbur’s expression shattered for a split second and reality came crashing back in.

“Techno! Welcome back. Good haul you’ve got there.” The brunet motioned towards the bags at their feet with his head, and Techno just nodded tiredly.
“There’s a good few stacks in there. Should last for whatever you want it for.” Techno drawled, and Wilbur grinned and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Great! Now, I’ll just go and take this-” Wilbur went to grab the bags and walk off, but Techno, his patience shot from a day in the mines and filter even more transparent than normal, stepped forward and grabbed Wilbur’s shoulder. The man stuttered to a halt, and if Techno hadn’t known Wilbur as well, he wouldn’t have spotted the minute flinch the older man gave off. “Wait a sec’, Wil. We need to have that talk.” Techno intoned seriously. Wilbur slumped a little, frowning, before stepping back and out of Techno’s range with a sigh. “Sure, sure. Well, what is it?” Wilbur crossed his arms and made no move to head anywhere more private, and Techno internally grimaced as he realised that they’d be having this conversation where all of Pogtopia could probably hear it.

“Well, I have some… concerns, about how we’re going about the Revolution.” Techno started off tentatively. Immediately, Wilbur’s face shut down and he scowled, and Techno winced.
“Let me guess, even you disagree with blowing up the bloody country now?!” Wilbur asked, eyes alight with mania, and Techno took a step back to try and defuse the situation.
“No- I, well. Wil, I think you need to tone it down a little.” Techno tried, but Wilbur just snarled at him. The piglin part of Techno immediately perked up with a hiss, having recognised the challenge even if Wilbur didn’t know he’d just made one, and Techno had to wrestle himself back under control before the entire situation devolved. 

“Are you all bloody traitors now!?” Wilbur shouted so suddenly that Techno flinched, the madman throwing his arms out to the side. Techno watched his brother’s eruption with wide eyes, shocked at how quickly his mood had swung from manically cheerful to downright vicious. “My own brother, giving up on me!” Wilbur shook with rage that came completely out of no-where, and Techno felt the first stirrings of annoyance whirl in his chest.
“Oi, Wilbur, I’m not giving up on the revolution. Calm down! I’m just suggesting-” But Techno was cut off again as Wilbur whirled to face him, face red and eyes as cold and as sharp as chipped ice.
“If you’re not here to support me, then what use are you?!” Wilbur spat out, and Techno froze. All of a sudden, the conversation with Dream from the night before came flooding back along with the indignant, rightful rage that had accompanied his realisation.

“What use am I?! I’m your brother, Wilbur! Not a tool for you to use!” Techno growled back, his left hand instinctively drifting towards his pickaxe. Wilbur evidently spotted the interaction if his darting eyes were any indication, and Techno took a deep breath and forced his hand away before the heated argument turned into an all-out brawl. “You’re not a tool to use? What about me, huh?! I’m not just the person you’re using in order to have some right old fun in destroying a government? You know, your M.O?” Wilbur all but hissed back. Techno reeled at that insinuation; he’d come to his brothers’ aid because they asked him, not for whatever reason Wilbur’s twisted mind had conjured up. “What- Wil, what the hell!? You guys asked me for my help! So I came! I’ve never used you like that!” Techno’s voice rose even more, and Wilbur, completely unreasonable by that point, rose to match it.
“Well, how do I know that! For all I know, this could be one giant game to you! I mean, you sure act like it, disappearing for weeks at a time only to have nothing to show for it!” Before techno could retort, Wilbur spoke again, evidently on a roll. “Infact, is that it? Have you been selling out secrets to Schlatt? Betrayed us for a little cash, hmm? You’ve certainly done it before, running off to Hypixel for the glory and abandoning us!” Wilbur’s voice rose to a fever pitch, face twisted into a cruel sneer, and Techno felt every word as they hit right through him. His emotions warred with him, sadness and betrayal and despair mixing with the absolute rage that overshadowed everything.

“Leave.” Techno gritted his teeth, fists clenched so tightly in an effort not to lash out at his already frailer-than-normal brother, that blood began dripping down his hands. Wilbur just snorted haughtily, eyes searing into him. “Ha! You were the one to start this, brother, so-” That sent Techno over the edge.
“I said leave!” The warrior roared, and Wilbur stumbled back a few steps, eyes wide. The last time that tone of voice had been used, was just before Techno had absolutely torn apart a group of bandits who’d thought that kidnapping Tommy, who’d only been eight years old at the time and had been terrified, had been a good idea. Wisely, Wilbur stalked off, but not before throwing a final quip behind him. “This revolution is happening, Techno, with or without you. Decide which side you’re on.” Techno didn’t answer.

Techno breathed out slowly a few minutes later, relaxing his tense muscles and wincing as they screamed at him. Clenching his eyes shut, Techno groaned as he palmed his eyes, trying to fight off the oncoming headache. The mining had already weakened him earlier, and the shouting match hadn’t done him any favours. “Well, that looked like it could have gone better.” A light voice piped up from his left, and Techno almost swung at them until it registered.
“Niki.” Techno greeted tiredly, putting his hands down to face the woman. While they hadn’t been particularly friendly towards each other, especially after the disastrous festival, Techno had never seen the woman as an enemy. They were technically on the same side, after all.

“Techno.” Niki nodded back before her eyes drifted to where Wilbur had disappeared into the gloom of the ravine a few minutes beforehand. “What was that about?” Niki asked calmly, and Techno grimaced. Normally, he wouldn’t have said anything, but with his mind whirling and his instincts shrieking at him that he’d lost his sounder-mate, he wasn’t really in the frame of mind to slot his carefully crafted mask back into place. “Wilbur’s going mad. That-” Techno waved lazily towards the direction Wilbur had left in. “-was the attempt to reel him back in.” Niki just shot the man an unimpressed gaze, and Techno sneered back.
“You only just noticed?” Niki asked, shock and disapproval colouring her tone, and Techno scowled.
“I haven’t seen Wilbur in years, so I didn’t know that this wasn’t his new normal! Plus, it’s not like I’ve been here enough to notice.” Techno bit out, and Niki raised her hands in surrender.
“Right, right.” Silence fell for a few moments. “So, why have you been away so much recently?” Niki asked, seemingly desperate to keep the conversation going, lest it descend into awkwardness.
“That’s private.” Techno retorted quickly, the anxiety of having to hide Arielle’s existence flaring up suddenly. Thankfully, Niki didn’t push, instead just humming out a curious noise of acceptance.

“Well, what just happened there looked pretty normal for us. Wil never listens to us anymore. It’s all about his revolution, and blowing up L’Manberg.” Niki scowled, and Techno wondered how often she’d made that expression compared to the cheerful, smiling woman he’d seen several years before this entire mess. “Why do you care so much about that damn country, anyway? Is the government so important to you?” Techno snipped back, his mood not helping his filter. However, he couldn’t have predicted the reaction Niki gave, as she whirled around and pointed a finger in his face, her own expression twisted into a snarl. “Is it all about the government with you all!? Really?! I don’t care about the government, or who runs the country, or what! I don’t even care if L’Manberg is even called a country!” Niki snarled, and Techno took a step back at the woman’s unexpectedly fierce ire. “I don’t want the government back, I want my home back! L’Manberg is my home, is Tommy and Tubbo and Wilbur’s homes! I think you’ve all forgotten that! Honestly!” Niki ranted before spinning on her heel and taking off, huffing in outrage.

Techno could do nothing but watch the woman leave, mind ripped into even more shreds than before. Chat was screaming up a storm in his head, but for once, it was his own thoughts that were plaguing him. His mind kept spinning back around to the word home, which invoked images of a wooden cottage in the woods, three children playing while their father kept a watchful eye over them. Techno tried to imagine that house going up in flames, and winced. The realisation dawned on what exactly Wilbur’s plan to blow up L’Manberg would actually mean for the people living there, and he couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before. 

“Wilbur… are we wrong?” Techno whispered into the darkness. It did not answer.

Chapter Text

Dream grinned behind his mask as Arielle rolled around on the floor, smashing her dolls together and squealing in joy. If those dolls had been living beings, they most certainly would have been reduced to pulps by that point, but Dream had learnt his lesson in getting between Arielle and her play time. He’d tried that earlier that day, only an hour or so after Techno had left for Pogtopia, while trying to get the child to calm down for food. Safe to say, it had been an absolute disaster and Dream had sworn to himself then and there that he’d never try and do something so idiotic again. 

“‘You having fun there, Ari?” Dream called, and Arielle’s head popped up like a hound scenting food. 
“Dee! Play!” Arielle cried, kicking her legs around until she’d managed to sit herself up. While she still wasn’t the most stable on her feet, the small child had gotten stronger in leaps and bounds. Dream dreaded the day where Arielle was strong enough to actually get up and run for longer periods than ten seconds at a time, and at the thought, the man shivered. ‘That’s… not going to be fun.’
“Deeee!” Arielle called, a small pout on her face as she held out one of her dolls to him. Rolling his eyes, Dream scooted across the floor and obligingly plucked the doll from Arielle’s grasp. “So, what do you want me to do with this, then?” Dream asked, amusement colouring his tone. Arielle demonstrated a moment later when she slammed her own doll against the one in Dream’s hand with all the strength her tiny toddler body allowed, and Dream just sighed. “Should have expected that one.”

Dream smiled softly as he absently moved the doll for Arielle to chase, the little girl squealing in delight. She’d grown so much since Dream had first met her several months ago, and at that thought, his head perked up. Reminded of that moment all those weeks ago, when Dream had first confirmed Arielle’s relation to Techno, Dream hummed as a thought came to him. ‘Hey, wasn’t she turning two soon? What’s Techno going to do for that, I wonder? Can’t exactly have a party like other human children…’ Dream mused, eyes drifting. His mind fell into the rabbit hole of his fuzzy memories without anything to grab his attention, and Dream found himself thinking over the only party he’d ever remembered having. Growing up in an impoverished orphanage would do that. It had been a small affair, only the four of them, and had happened when his Divine Markings had come in when he was ten years old. It’d marked the last day of his ‘normal’ life, and while he’d enjoyed himself, the constant fear that had followed his awakening darkened all the memories he had of it.

Sighing, Dream shifted until he managed to cross his legs, resting an elbow on one knee and propping his head up with a palm. By that point, Arielle had managed to sequester her other doll back from Dream’s grasp and was idly picking apart the tiny outfits they had been dressed with. Silence had gradually fallen in the small underground bunker, and Dream huffed out a breath in an effort to fill it. After spending so much of his time either with Arielle and Techno, or just travelling between their home and his own, the silence he’d originally revelled in had grown more stifling over time. He was no longer used to spending hours at a time sitting at his desk, tinkering with his world. Instead, he regularly found himself itching to move around and do something after only an hour or two. Curiously, his sleep pattern had also normalised, which was something both Sapnap and George had commented on when he’d last spoken to them around a week ago. ‘Who knew getting a job would actually help my health, huh?’ Dream snorted at the thought.

Arielle’s head whipped around at the noise and she let out a little grunt, something that Dream had gotten more familiar with. He'd been trying to understand some of the little sounds she’d make in response to things, and while he thought he’d managed to puzzle out a few of the more simple noises, most were beyond him. Then, Techno would come and start a conversation with the girl in what sounded like entirely piglin, and Dream would be reminded just how little he actually understood. He’d managed to separate some more of the common noises into ‘good sounds’ and ‘bad sounds’, and then a completely different category for all the noises that usually preceded a meltdown. He’d learnt to divert those at all costs. Dream snorted at the thought; he reacted to them as if they were a deadly enemy he needed to avoid, most of the time.

“Dee?” Dream returned his attention to the little girl sitting in front of him with a hum. She’d stood herself up by that point, mostly likely using his knee as leverage without him even realising, and Dream marvelled at how quickly his guard dropped around her. “Where Tech?” Arielle asked, blinking at him with wide, innocent golden eyes. Smiling, Dream beckoned her forward and ruffled her pink ringlets, causing her to huff. She obligingly sat on his lap though, and Dream tugged her into his chest to settle them both more comfortably. “Your dad will be home soon, Ari. He’s just dealing with a… problem.” Dream answered, withholding his usual sarcastic quip at the thought of Wilbur as something as simple as a ‘problem’.

“Dad? What dad?” Arielle asked, head tilted in confusion. Dream’s eyes widened as the realisation crashed through his brain. ‘Ari never calls him dad… Oho, this will be fun.’ An evil smirk crept onto the blonde’s face, but Ari was unmoved, peering up at him from his lap. “Hey, Ari? What do you say about preparing a little surprise for Techno before he comes back, yeah?” Dream asked, and Ari just nodded happily.
“Surprise!” Dream just grinned.
“Okay, so Ari, when Techno comes back, I want you to call him ‘Papa’, okay?” Dream told the girl, a serious expression on his face. Arielle didn’t seem to get it immediately, a tiny little frown scrunching up his features. “Papa? What that?” Arielle asked, and Dream wracked his brain for the best way to explain what a father is to a two year old.
“Papa… it’s a name for the person who looks after you. Who cares for you and feeds you. That sort of thing.” Dream tried to simplify it down, and thankfully Arielle perked up.
“So Tech is Papa? Papa Tech?” Dream felt an unholy smirk light up his face at that.
“Yes, exactly! Well done Ari, you’re so smart!” Dream praised, tickling the child lightly, and Arielle squealed.

The little girl calmed down into quiet giggles, face alight with joy, and Dream couldn’t resist ruffling her hair again. It was silky smooth and fell down to her shoulders in soft ringlets. It was growing thicker by the day, and Dream just knew that Techno would be beating would-be suitors off of his daughter with a stick when she grew up. Or with a sword. ‘Yeah, Techno would go for the permanent option first… to be honest, I wouldn’t blame him.’

“So… Papa Tech and… Papa Dee?” Dream choked at that. Arielle looked so proud of herself, her lips curled into a smug little smirk so reminiscent of Techno that it was like looking at his much younger, female clone. It was as if Arielle thought herself to have solved one of the greatest mysteries of the universe, and if Dream hadn’t been so busy hacking up a lung, the sight probably would have made him melt. “No!” Dream managed to get out, although the sound came out more like a high-pitched, strangled squeak than the word it was meant to be. Arielle jumped at the noise, golden eyes wide and brow furrowed a little. “No Papa Dee?” Arielle asked, sounding ever so confused, and Dream inhaled a massive gulp of air to calm his racing heart.
“No, I’m not your Papa, Ari. I’m more like… your uncle? Yeah, I’m your Uncle Dee.” Dream explained once he could finally breathe again. Arielle’s nose scrunched as she pondered the conundrum she’d just been handed, not sure whether to accept it or not. Eventually however, she came to a decision. She waved her little arms around, Dream dodging those tiny fists before they could clobber him in the face, and let out a growl. “No! Papa Tech and Papa Dee!” Arielle hollered, and Dream resisted the urge to cry. Instead, he just groaned and collapsed backwards onto the stone floor. He was still clutching Arielle to his chest and so the little girl yelped when she was forced to topple over with him. ‘I’ve played myself. Or I’ve been played by a two-year-old. Either’s just as bad.’ Dream grumbled mentally, feeling sorry for himself. He could imagine Techno’s face, either enraged at ‘stealing’ his daughter or incredibly smug at having an excuse to whittle even more responsibilities out of the blonde in regards to Arielle. Not that Dream minded taking care of the child, but… it was the principle that counted.

Levering himself back up with a grunt after he’d determined that he’d moped enough, Dream exhaled an explosive sigh. The air ruffled the hair next to Arielle’s ears and she squeaked, little hands reaching up to rub the strange sensation from them. Dream’s eyes followed the action and he eyed the discovery he’d just made with interest. Arielle’s ears seemed to have grown more pointed over the time he’d known her, and Dream frowned and leaned forward to get a better look. He knew that Techno’s own ears were slightly pointed, although more rounded like a human’s due to his mixed heritage. Following that logic, Arielle’s ears should have been almost completely human-like, but instead they looked even more different than Techno’s! ‘Plus… what is that?’ Dream wondered, brushing a lock of pink hair aside. The tips of her ears weren’t just pointed, but also seemed to have changed colour. A shimmering pattern of what looked like the void itself, little white speckles of stars and all, was dotted over Arielle’s skin, reaching no further down than the middle of her ears. They were a dark purple in colouration, and as Arielle shifted a little with a whine of confusion, they caught the light. Their iridescence cast a tiny pink shimmer over the patches, and Dream gently nudged the discoloured skin with a finger. “Huh. That’s weird.” Dream muttered to himself.

Arielle, evidently having gotten sick of whatever Dream was doing, puffed out her cheeks and let loose a short, sharp shriek. Immediately, the sound shot straight through Dream’s ears and he jerked with a yelp. “Ari! Don’t do that!” Dream scolded, but Arielle was having none of it. Instead, she just huffed.
“Papa Dee, felt weird!” Arielle announced, and Dream sighed. He should have expected that. “Sorry, sorry Ari. And please, it’s Uncle Dee, or just Dee. I’m not your Papa, Ari.” Dream tried again, but Arielle just scrunched her face up. “Look-” Dream began before Arielle could throw a fit. “-your papa has the same colour hair as you, yeah?” Dream picked up a lock of her hair and gently tugged it, causing Arielle to giggle as her head followed the motion. “That makes him your Papa. I don’t look like you, so I’m your Uncle. Does that make sense?” Arielle glanced as well as she could between her own pink hair and Dream’s face. The god patiently waited for Arielle to scrutinise him with narrowed golden eyes, until eventually she fell back with a little huff of realisation. “So… Papa Tech and Uncle Dee?” Arielle enunciated slowly, and Dream let out a breath of relief.
‘Crisis averted. Thank the gods.’ “Exactly that! Well done Ari!” Dream called happily, causing Arielle to beam up at him. 
“Uncle Dee! Where Papa?” Arielle asked again, and Dream just sighed longsufferingly. ‘Curse the energy of children!’
“He’ll be back soon, and when he is, you need to call him Papa Tech straight away, okay? It’ll make him really happy!” Dream bargained. Arielle just nodded rapidly, head moving so quickly that her hair flew in every direction.
“Papa Tech!” Arielle announced with a joyous cry, and Dream smirked. He couldn’t wait to see the expression on the man’s face!

Chapter Text

Techno felt the breath freeze in his lungs as his daughter lunged at him the moment he entered the third, newest room of his underground base. Dream was casually leaning against the wall across the room, and shit-eating grin on his face, and Arielle was blessedly unaware of the absolute pandemonium that had erupted in Techno’s mind the moment she’d opened her mouth. “Wh-what did you say, Arielle?” Techno choked out, not even noticing when his pickaxe slipped from his numb fingers and collided with the floor with a deafening clang. Dream winced at the noise, straightening in alarm, and Arielle lifted her head from where it had been buried in her father’s leg to peer up at him in confusion. “Papa Tech?” She said again, blinking owlishly with bright golden eyes, and Techno swallowed harshly. Crouching slowly, Tecno swept his daughter into his arms, the little girl squealing in delight. However, Dream spotted the dawning expression of terror and realisation on the warrior’s face and frowned. 

“Where did you l-learn that, Arielle?” Techno asked, stumbling over his words even as he shot a vicious glare towards Dream. The man just raised an enquiring eyebrow, slightly blindsided by Techno’s completely unexpected reaction. Arielle remained oblivious to the tension in the room and instead giggled, pointing unashamedly towards Dream in the corner. “Uncle Dee!” Arielle crowed, and Dream winced when Techno’s expression grew darker. The man stalked over to the small child’s bed and he placed her down quickly but gently. “Stay here for a moment, Arielle. I need to talk to Dream for a bit.” Techno spoke, voice uncharacteristically flat towards her, and it was clear Arielle knew something was wrong, if the confused pout on her face was anything to go by. Thankfully, she remained in place while Techno grabbed Dream’s arm and dragged him from the room, ignoring his squawk of protest.

“Oi, what’s the deal, Techno!? I thought you’d be happy about that!” Dream hissed, stumbling back a little when Techno jolted to a stop and spun around.
“Dream, you- I can’t- damnit.” Techno growled, stalking away from the green-clad man and running a hand through his hair. Dream watched him, his face painted with his bewilderment. The god’s mind was running a mile a minute, replaying every moment of the last few minutes in his mind and coming up frustratingly empty on what on earth had upset Techno so much. And it was clear to Dream that Techno was upset; to anyone else, he might have seemed simply angry, but the god had spent almost six months by that point around the warrior and his daughter. He probably knew them both better than most other people by that point; he’d even go as far as to say he probably knew Techno better than his own brothers did, if their reactions to him had been any indication. Seeing the warrior so rattled also put Dream’s back up, which was made even worse by the fact that Arielle was somehow involved. The little girl had, by then, easily wormed her way into Dream’s heart, so knowing that something might be wrong with her? Dream tensed at the very thought.

“Techno, what happened? What did Wilbur do?” Dream asked, voice as immovable as stone. Techno whipped around, his eyes narrowed, but Dream could see the badly-concealed torment behind them. “Why do you think it was him?” Techno all but spat. Dream raised an eyebrow and gestured to Techno with his arms, as if that was the only answer he needed, and Techno scowled at the action. He paced for a few more seconds before abruptly stopping and groaning, palming his eyes as if his very thoughts were causing him pain. “It wasn’t Wilbur. It was Niki.” Dream paused, blinking in surprise at that. He’d rarely interacted with Niki, but from what he’d gotten from the very few times he’d seen her in person, she wasn’t someone of much interest. “Niki? What’d she do?” Dream questioned, unable to keep the undercurrent of incredulity from his tone. 
“Just- Wilbur and I got into an argument; an explosive one. I couldn’t get a word in edgeways before he’d written me off as a traitor.” Dream scowled at that, but he wasn’t surprised. With Wilbur’s crumbling stability, Dream would have been more shocked if he’d been able to hold a civil conversation with Techno at all that wasn’t about blowing up the country. 

Techno growled before abruptly dropping heavily onto a chest, resting his elbows on his knees and fiddling absently with his cloak’s buckle. “Niki heard and came over, and we started talking. Long story short- Dream… do you think we’re wrong?” Techno stared at Dream, while the god tried to figure out what on earth the warrior meant.
“Wrong? In what?” Techno just sighed, staying silent for a few more moments.
“...The revolution, Dream. Or, the blowing-up-the-country bit.” Techno eventually got out, and Dream had to fight to keep his jaw from dropping. That was the last thing he’d expected to come out of the man’s mouth. “What- what the hell happened down there to cause that kind of question?!” Dream all but erupted, eyes wide and face contorted into such a look of honest confusion that it made Techno wince. Techno rested his chin in his hands, hunched over almost subconsciously, and Dream couldn’t help but think that he’d never seen Techno so vulnerable before.

“Just, think about it, Dream. Niki said that they didn’t care about the government. It was their home.” Techno continued, and while Dream took a seat on another one of the lower chests across from the man, his puzzled expression never wavered.
“Yeah, sure, but it’s corrupt. Better get rid of it before it causes more problems, right?” Dream said back, tilting his head as he tried to figure out where Techno was going with this. The warrior just furrowed his brows with a sigh at the response, shutting his eyes briefly. The energy of the room had finally settled down, but the pair were so engrossed in their conversation that they never noticed the small pair of golden eyes peeking around the doorway to the room.

“Sure, Dream, that’s what I thought too. But then I imagined this place being blown to smithereens, Arielle losing the only place she knows, the only safe space for her, and… well…” Techno trailed off, Dream sitting back against the wall with a small frown of contemplation on his face. He winced slightly as he realised what Techno was getting at, but he just didn’t think it was that bad of a problem. “I… get that, Techno. I do. But L’Manburg, or Manberg, or whatever it’s called now, isn’t much of a home if it’s rotten from the inside. It’s not safe when its foundations are crumbling beneath it. Wouldn’t it be better to get rid of it and start again?” Dream pointed out, and Techno blew out a harsh breath.
“Yeah, I get that too. That’s the problem. I get both sides. Gods I wish I’d never realised this. Would have made it far fucking easier.” Techno grumbled, and Dream let out a humourless chuckle that fell flat in the tension of the room.

“I get why that’s gotten you worked up, but… what’s with the reaction from earlier?” Dream asked, not quite sure where the connection between Niki and Arielle’s words was. Techno grimaced, letting out another sigh. “It’s just… I can’t help but think I’m not doing this right.” Techno admitted, and Dream had to fight to keep his eyebrows from raising at the frank answer. He knew Techno had changed since he’d picked up (or well, been dumped with) that tiny, wriggling bundle all those months ago, but he didn’t think it was that much. Either Arielle had softened the warrior up a lot more than Dream had anticipated, or Techno had decided Dream was somehow more trustworthy than his own brothers (which wasn’t really that high of a bar to begin with, when Dream thought about it).

“What do you mean? Ari hasn’t gotten hurt, or died yet, so I’d say you’re doing pretty good!” Dream retorted, seemingly unconcerned, and he just grinned at the flat look Techno shot him.
“We’re literally dragging a child into a war, Dream.” Techno reminded the god, which sobered him up pretty quickly.
“Not just that, but multiple children. It’s not just Arielle. Tommy’s only, what, sixteen? Fundy’s biologically five for fucks sake, even if in all other ways he’s nearly twenty. It’s just… this situation suddenly seems a lot more fucked up than before.” Techno trailed off, biting his lip, and Dream hummed in consideration. His own moral compass was a bit skewed from his childhood so he didn’t completely understand where Techno was coming from. He’d never really considered himself to have ever been a child, and anything that could have been considered his ‘childhood’ had been marred by suffering. By the time he was sixteen, he’d been on the run for six years; he’d started training rigorously at eleven in order to gain control of his godling abilities before he accidentally fried someone; at thirteen he’d watched his best friend die- Dream shuddered and bit his tongue, using the sharp sting of pain to ground himself to the present. ‘Bad time to go there, Dream.’ The god thought to himself, shaking his head as if to shake away the haunting memories.

“Look, Techno. Tommy is old enough to make his old decisions-” Techno snorted at that, but Dream ignored him. “-and you didn’t drag Fundy into this. Wilbur did. Plus, where the hell’s all this responsibility coming from anyway?” Dream couldn’t resist asking. Techno just sighed again and sat up from his slouch, letting his head thunk back against the wall. “I don’t know. I guess… looking after Arielle did it? I just substitute Arielle into these situations and suddenly they don’t look so… harmless anymore.” Techno mumbled, and Dream just frowned. That did make sense to him, and the god bit his cheek. “Gods, maybe it would have been easier to let your friend take Arielle, Dream. Then she wouldn’t be in this mess.” Techno carelessly grumbled, but before Dream could snap at him to knock some sense into the moping warrior, a sharp, strangled gasp from the doorway did that for him. Head snapping up almost in unison, Techno and Dream sharply glanced towards the doorway and paled almost in unison. 

Arielle was staring back at them, her large golden eyes glistening with tears even as she clutched one of her dolls to her chest. “Take me? Papa no me?” Arielle whispered, and Dream had a split second to see Techno make an aborted lunge forwards before Arielle was darting back into the bedroom with a short, sharp sob. The sound wretched right through Dream’s chest, almost feeling like it had physically knocked the breath from him, and the god shared a panicked glance with a manic Techno. The warrior was still half-standing, hand outstretched to where his daughter had disappeared, and as a few moments of tense silence passed, his face only grew more panicked. “Fuck.” Dream whispered, and mentally, Techno couldn’t agree more.

“Arielle!” Techno snapped from his funk and rushed after his daughter, with Dream close behind. Heading into their living quarters, the pair glanced around frantically, only growing more irate when they didn’t immediately spot a head of pink hair in the room. However, a sniffle from their left caught their attention quickly and the pair relaxed when they spotted the missing girl. Somehow she’d managed to stuff herself behind one of the beds (Techno’s, actually) and Dream took a grateful step back in the situation as Techno crept forward and sat himself on the floor.

Swallowing, Techno had a few false starts before deciding to ignore Dream’s presence. His mind was screaming at him to comfort Arielle but also not show any weakness in front of the green-clad god. However, he knew doing both just wasn’t possible so… he made a decision. His daughter was more important, his reputation be damned. “Hey, Arielle, it's okay. I do want you, I promise.” Techno spoke quietly, and Arielle poked her head out from her hiding spot. Her face was blotchy, her face wrinkled into such a raw expression of confused betrayal that it had Dream wincing and turning away. “Friend take me!” Arielle accused, and despite her broken speech, both men got the jist easily.
“No, no, Arielle I didn’t mean it. I’d never want anyone to take you away.” Techno replied, and his voice was so open with emotion that it momentarily stunned the god behind him. Dream had been hiding behind his masks, both physical and mental, for so long that he’d almost forgotten what the original him was like. He’d assumed Techno was the same, since while the warrior had gotten used to him enough to drop his guard around him, he was never properly open. And to be honest, Dream didn’t blame him. So, seeing Techno with all his walls crumbling down was an eye-opening experience.

Arielle blinked at Techno with narrowed eyes, still sniffling, before coming to a decision. “Promise?” Arielle asked, and Techno didn’t hesitate.
“I promise.” In the next moment, Arielle was throwing herself at her father, and Techno scrambled to catch the child before she landed on the cold, stone floor. Arielle immediately buried her face into the man’s shoulder and Dream watched with a small smile as Techno clutched her to his chest as if letting her go meant she’d disappear forever. The god didn’t think Techno even knew he was doing it. ‘Arielle’s softened him up indeed.’ Dream mentally hummed with an internal chuckle.

“Love you, Papa.” Dream’s head snapped up at that, wide eyes meeting Techno’s startled ones. The god shook his head at the pinket, who frowned back, but Dream was sure of this one. He’d not taught Arielle that! Silence fell for a few moments, and Dream was about to make a rude gesture at Techno to get him to say something damnit, when the man sighed silently.
“...Love you too, Arielle.” Dream grinned and had to resist the urge to punch the air in victory. Techno shot him a look at that, eyes narrowed, but the effect of it was utterly ruined by the small child clinging to his chest like a barnacle. Not that holding her made him less intimidating; on the other hand, it only made him seem more dangerous. However, it didn’t do much to mitigate the fact that Dream knew that Arielle had wrapped Techno around her little finger without even trying.

However, even though Arielle had calmed down, Dream could still see her face was scrunched into a grieved frown. “Hey, Ari?” Dream piped up, strolling over and deciding to put his ‘cheer Ari up’ plan into play. He shot a quick glance at his mask when he spotted it on the table to his right, eyebrows momentarily raised when he realised that he hadn’t even registered that he wasn’t wearing it. “Dee?” Arielle gained his attention again, both herself and her father watching him curiously. Dream crouched down in front of the girl and grinned, ignoring Techno’s suspicious look with practised ease.
“So, Ari, what do you want for your birthday?” Dream asked, face a picture of mischief, and he didn't register how Techno’s face had dropped into a thoughtful frown.
“Bir-day?” Arielle asked, head tilted in confusion, and Dream nodded rapidly.
“Yep! You turn two in a few weeks! How exciting is that!” Dream exclaimed, and while both adults could tell Arielle didn’t completely get what it was, she giggled with him all the same.

“Dream, when is Arielle’s birthday?” Techno asked, face serious, and Dream blinked owlishly at him.
“You don’t know?” Dream asked, voice bewildered, and Techno scowled.
“No, Dream, I’m not psychic, and you obviously didn’t think it was important to tell me, her father.” Techno drawled sarcastically, and Dream winced at that. (If he’d been a little more observant, he’d have realised that that was the first time Techno had ever consciously referred to himself as Arielle’s father before). “Oops. Uh, yeah, her birthday is the 21st of June.” Techno blinked at that.
“Huh. Summer solstice. Neat.” He commented, and Dream glanced at him with an exasperated shake of his head.
“Nerd.” Dream retorted, which earned him a sharp elbow to the ribs that nearly sent him careening from his balanced crouch with an ‘oof’. However, when Dream thought about that date again, he frowned. “Just like her…” Dream muttered, earning a strange look from the warrior next to him.
“What?” Dream shook his head.
“Nothing, nothing. Just old memories.” Techno snorted.
“Old man.” He joked, and Dream knew better to rise to the bait by that point.

“So-” Dream began, and Arielle watched with wide, awed eyes, as he spun around into a standing position effortlessly from his crouch. “Any idea on how to plan a birthday party? Her birthday is in a little over a week, after all.” Dream continued, shooting Techno with a mischievous look. The father just groaned. “Hey, Ari, you like cake?” Dream asked, and Arielle’s head perked up like a hound scenting blood.
“Cake?” The little girl chirped, and Techno shot Dream a dirty look. The god had brought the child a small slice of cherry cake when Bad had last dropped off a bit at Dream’s home, and Arielle had been hooked ever since. Dream grinned at her reaction and flung his arms out, as if to say ‘tadaa!’ “See! Step one, done! Easy!” Dream grinned, and Techno just fell backwards with a groan, catching Arielle as she toppled over with him, and let his head fall back against the stone floor with a thunk. However, Techno still managed to spot Dream trying to sneak off out of his peripheral, and stuck out a foot at the perfect moment to trip him. Dream went sprawling with a yelp, almost taking one of Techno’s ragged chairs down with him when he grabbed onto anything to try and stop his descent. Arielle burst into peals of laughter, and even Techno cracked a mocking smirk. “You’re not getting away from it that easily. You brought up the birthday idea, you can help plan it, Uncle Dee.” Techno drawled teasingly, and Dream, from where he was still lying prone on the stone floor, just slowly turned his head towards Techno and scowled.

Chapter Text

Dream yelped as he tripped over a streamer for the tenth time that day and went crashing to the stone floor. Groaning pathetically, the man rolled onto his back and yanked his mask off, rubbing the side of his face with a wince. The porcelain thing, while useful for concealing his Divine Markings and his overall identity, was sometimes more a hindrance than a help when it came to actually protecting his face. Techno snorted from the other side of the room, where he was carefully pinning a set of pink and yellow balloons to the wall. Dream shot a glare at his back that he knew Techno could feel, but the irritating man just ignored it. 

“Why did we decide this was a good idea, again?” Dream groaned, clambering to his feet, shoving his mask back on, and carefully scooping up the dropped decorations into his arms. They were so fragile, being made of paper, that he was constantly terrified of destroying them before they even made it onto the walls. “As I recall, this was your idea, Dream.” Techno drawled, clambering back over the pile of chests he’d shoved out of the way to get to the walls. Dream’s expression soured at that when he realised, yes, it had been his idea. “Those books obviously didn’t know what they were talking about.” Dream grumbled petulantly, while Techno rolled his eyes. They’d been decorating for almost an hour by that point, and had only got about half of it done. The pair knew they might have gone overboard on the planning side of things, but Dream also knew that neither of them would ever settle for anything less than perfect. Their competitive nature demanded it. Plus, they would have been done by now if they didn’t have a constant spy trying to get in.

Dream straightened as he watched a tiny little hand squeeze through the crack in the door to the other room. Sighing, one part in exasperation and one in amusement, Dream carefully placed down his decorations and wandered over. Just as the little hand managed to heave the door open, Dream swept their owner off their feet with a mildly disapproving frown. The little spy just squealed in shock, before huffing and going limp in Dream’s outstretched arms, knowing she’d been caught. Again. “Ari, come on. We need you to stay here for now. You don’t want to ruin the surprise, right?” Dream scolded gently, heading back into the room and placing Arielle on the ground. That was a bad move, since the little girl just darted around his legs and made a mad dash for the door. Hissing, Dream twisted around and leaned backwards, managed to snag the back of the girl’s white dress. Dream hauled her into his arms again with a grunt, stumbling a little as he overbalanced. However, while Dream felt like the stressed babysitter he was, Arielle seemed to be having the time of her life. Her golden eyes were alight with mischief, and not for the first time, Dream wondered if somehow, Wilbur and Tommy’s influence on Techno had managed to shine through in the little girl. ‘She could probably give those two a run for their money.’ Dream grumbled mentally.

Techno wandered through the door to their living quarters only a moment later, shutting it forcefully behind him with a satisfying click. Neither men had dared to actually shut the door properly while Arielle was in there alone. Instead, they’d just pushed it as close to shutting as they dared, although that would have solved all of the little girl’s master escape attempts. However, she was only a near-two-year-old, and Dream knew they would have been stupid to trust her on her own and not be able to hear her properly. “We’re done?” Dream asked the pinkett, hopeful, but Techno just snorted. 
“Not even close. We’ve probably got a good hour or so left.” Dream’s expression soured at that, but he did obligingly put the little girl down when she started squirming in his arms. Immediately, Arielle made a beeline towards her father, and Techno scooped her up with such grace and practice that it almost looked like he wasn’t even thinking about it. Arielle burbled happily on his lap, playing with the buttons on his shirt, and both men instinctively relaxed, as if the pure act of the little girl being happy lifted a weight off their shoulders. “But, I’m getting hungry, and if I am then Arielle must be. Her birthday isn’t for another day anyway, so there’s no rush.” Techno mused, and Dream blinked as his stomach took that chance to protest. Loudly. Techno just smirked at the man across from him, knowing that if he hadn’t had his mask on, then his face probably would have been bright red. 

“Shut up.” Dream growled, and Techno’s smirked only got wider.
“I never said anything.” Techno drawled. Instead, the man just stood up and deposited Arielle on Dream's lap, causing the little girl to jolt and blink up owlishly at her father. “I’ll go do us some lunch; you keep an eye on Arielle.” Techno stated before he wandered back into the other room. Dream turned the little girl on his lap around to face him, and sighed when he spotted the cheeky smile on her face. Immediately, Arielle began to carefully stand up on his lap, and Dream obliged her, supporting her torso so she didn’t go tumbling to the ground. While she’d gotten better in leaps and bounds at balancing on flat terrain (causing several more heart attacks for both adults, since her ability to simply vanish, even in Techno’s tiny base, had seemingly increased as well), her balance on anything not flat or stable was still lacking. However, that didn’t seem to bother Arielle, and so even as she wobbled, her little fingers strayed straight to his mask. This was something she did regularly, just tracing the smile on Dream’s mask, and every time it brought a pang of memories with it, of another young girl who used to do the same thing- Chink. Dream blinked as his mask abruptly slipped from his face, right into Arielle’s waiting hands. The little girl simply grinned at him, face curled into such a smug smirk that Dream couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed. “You’re a little hellion, Ari.” Dream grumbled. Arielle just beamed and clapped her hands together with a laugh, Dream jolting backwards to avoid being slapped in the face by his own mask, and the blonde couldn’t have stopped the way he all but melted at the sight if he’d wanted to. ‘Damn. Soft, I am getting…’

Quackity cursed as he ducked another arrow, sprinting through the fields as quickly as he could. He knew it was a bad idea to get into an argument with Schlatt, but he couldn’t help himself! They were supposed to be co-leaders! Partners! But Schlatt seemed to have taken the reins from the beginning, and if Quackity was thinking about it, he hadn’t minded at first. Then, the ram hybrid had decided to take down Quackity’s white house, sparking an argument that lasted almost an hour. Quackity had stalked off after that, huffing, and had bulldozed into his house like a man possessed. He’d calmed down pretty quickly, thankfully, but then…

“Quackity. On orders from the President, you’re to be arrested and put into holding. You’re no longer trustworthy, and may be conspiring against the country.” Quackity couldn’t do anything but gape as Sapnap and Karl had waltzed into his house without so much as a by your leave. They were decked out in almost full netherite, Sapnap having a diamond helmet and Karl a diamond chestplate. They were fully enchanted, holding well-made looking crossbows fully loaded, and for the first time, Quackity wondered where it had all gone wrong. “Wha- What are you talking about?!” Quackity exclaimed, backing up. Sapnap and Karl just continued forward, but Karl’s face twisted a little in indecision. Sapnap looked as immovable as he always did on a job, but the whiteness of his knuckles gave him away. They didn’t want to do this, not really. 

Quackity felt relief crash down on his shoulders and he straightened a little. He understood now; this was all an act for Schlatt. Keep him happy, report that they’d ‘punished’ him, and Quackity would be out scott free. (Somewhere in Quackity’s mind, he wondered when and how a sentence like that had become normal for him to think). Quackity took a step forward, opening his mouth to play along, when a third figure stepped into the room, quickly followed by a fourth. “Oh come now, Quackity. You really think I wouldn’t be here for the arrest of my ex-co-leader?” Schlatt drawled, standing straight and looking completely for all the world as if he’d just walked into a coffee shop for a quick snack. Immediately, Sapnap straightened and Karl’s face froze before it abruptly rearranged itself into something much colder. That was when the first tendrils of ice-cold dread began seeping through his chest.

“Schlatt what- what is going on?!” Was all Quackity could say, and the ram hybrid just smirked.
“Isn’t it obvious? You openly went against my decisions; the decisions which are good for this country. Therefore, you can no longer be trusted. Grab ‘im, boys.” Schlatt waved his hand, and Sapnap and Karl began to advance. They were going slow though, hesitating, and Quackity knew that he’d get one shot at that. “Oh hell no.” Quackity growled before lunging to the side. Karl went to follow, but ‘tripped’ over a ‘loose floorboard’, letting Quackity wrap his hands around his trusty bow. He yanked an arrow from his quiver on the floor, dodging Sapnap’s half-hearted crossbow shot with a yelp. Knocking the arrow, Quackity aimed right at Schlatt’s chest and relished in the widening of the man’s eyes and the fear that flashed through them. “Hasta la vista, baby.” Quackity growled before letting the arrow fly.

Quackity couldn’t help but grin again at the memory of Schlatt’s terrified face, but what had happened next had soured that. Schlatt had been wrenched to the side by a fourth figure that had shown up out of nowhere, although Quackity hadn’t managed to see them properly. ‘Punz, most likely. Fcuking mercenary.’ Quackity grumbled to himself. Thankfully, even if his arrow hadn’t struck Schlatt’s heart like he’d intended, it had still buried itself in his shoulder and the oh-so-proud President had collapsed with a scream, like a puppet with their strings cut. Sapnap and Karl had just stood there, bewildered, but the sideyed glance Karl had shot at had quickly gotten the now-exiled man moving. Quackity had darted past the collapsed president, managing to grab his netherite axe and chestplate on the way out. Only Punz had followed him out, shooting at his back, but Quackity had managed to shrug on his chest plate just in time to deflect an arrow that would have gone right through his left lung, had it connected.

That led to the current moment, and Quackity quickly slid down a small hill before splashing across the small stream at the bottom. The forest was only a few metres in front of him so if he could just reach it- Quackity yelped and threw himself to the side as an arrow clipped him in the arm, tearing through his skin. Swearing colourfully in all the languages he knew, Quackity heaved himself up the opposite bank with his good arm and rolled over the ledge and into the underbrush of the forest. Chest heaving, Quackity covered his mouth to muffle himself as he heard Punz pace forward. He stopped just next to where Quackity was hiding, before huffing in annoyance as heading further to the left.

Quackity only let himself relax and sigh in relief when he could no longer hear Punz’s armour clanking. Pulling himself to his feet, Quackity checked on his arm and winced at the huge gash halfway up his upper arm. Thankfully, the arrow had gone straight through his skin, not catching on anything, but the wound still stung like a bitch, and Quackity wondered where on earth he’d get medical supplies now that he was effectively exiled. He really didn’t want to die from an infection, thank you very much.

A snap of a twig from behind him caused Quackity to spin around, although his vision swam from the adrenaline still coursing through his veins. That only got worse when he spotted exactly who’d managed to sneak up on him. A brown horse stood a little ways away from him, and sat astride the animal was a dumbfounded looking Tommy Innit. He was wearing almost fully enchanted diamond armour, carrying a bow and shield, and Quackity swallowed as he took a step backwards. “Big Q? What the fuck are you doing out here?” Tommy asked, abrasive as always, and Quackity resisted the urge to just run away screaming, or maybe collapse to the ground in a pile and sob. ‘Fuck me, this really isn’t my day.’

Chapter Text

Dream hummed happily as he wandered towards Bad’s house, ignoring the confused and wary looks he was getting from the rapidly dwindling population of Manberg. Thankfully, he knew he wouldn’t need to worry about Schlatt, since he was still recovering from taking an arrow to the shoulder a few hours prior. The green-clad man had laughed so hard he’d almost toppled over when he’d heard the news of what Quackity had done, although he wasn’t surprised. To be honest, he was surprised no-one had defected from Schlatt sooner, but now that Quackity had… Well, that just opened the floodgates, so Dream expected it wouldn’t be long until Schlatt’s support dwindled to nothing. 

Grinning at the thought, Dream sauntered up to Bad’s front door, determined not to think about what he was about to say. “Bad! Bad, I need a favour!” Dream called, straining his ears to try and see if the demon was home. Thankfully, it didn’t take him long to hear the man shuffling around in his house, before the front door opened and the man peered out at Dream with a slightly confused expression. “Hey Dream! What’s up?” Bad all but chirped, and Dream waved in greeting.
“Hey Bad. Look, I need you to do something for me. It’s really urgent.” Dream started, posture serious, and he couldn’t help but internally cackle when Bad immediately straightened in alarm.
“What’s happened?” Bad asked, knowing Dream probably better than the god does himself. Dream paused for a few moments, causing Bad’s face to twist into a concerned frown. “...Dream?”
“I need you to bake a cake.” Dream finally spoke, and he was so glad for the mask hiding his shit-eating grin when Bad’s face dropped into the best expression of deadpan confusion he’d ever seen.
“...A cake.” Bad parroted, and Dream nodded.
“Yep! A cherry cake, to be precise.” Bad just raised an eyebrow. He opened his mouth as if to say something, before pausing and thinking better of it before shutting it with a click. “Don’t ask. No really, don’t.” Dream couldn’t help but continue. Bad just sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“It’s gonna’ be one of those days, isn’t it?” Bad grumbled, waving Dream into his house, and the god just hid a satisfied smirk.

Arielle huffed as a rude hand poked at her shoulder, drawing her into wakefulness. Growling, Arielle swiped at the offending attacker and rolled over, smushing her face into her pillow. Rumbling chuckles that her sleep-addled brain idly registered as belonging to her papa all but vibrated the bed beneath her, and Arielle whined in frustration. “C’mon Arielle, up you get.” Her papa chuckled above her, but Arielle just clenched her eyes shut and growled. A few moments of silence let the little girl relax, but just as she began to drift off again, the duvet over her abruptly vanished. Shrieking, Arielle shot up with a pout to glare blearily at her father, who was smirking at the end of her bed with her duvet in one hand. “Good morning, Arielle.” Her papa all but sang, a smirk on his face, and Arielle snarled half-heartedly at him. The man just snorted back. 

“C’mon, Arielle. Dream will be here soon and then you can get your presents.” Arielle tilted her head at that, her brain still sluggishly waking up. “P’esents?” Arielle made a confused noise when her papa tripped in the next moment, choking on a snort and having to grab onto the wall to avoid face planting the floor. “No- P-r-esents. Not peasants, Arielle.” Her papa chuckled again, although Arielle didn’t get the joke at all and just frowned at him. Then what he’d said finally registered in her head and she squealed, trying to haul herself to her feet. “Dee!” Arielle cried, nearly tumbling off the bed in her haste. Her papa lunged for her, but she managed to grab the edge of her sheet so she landed on her feet, albeit a little wobbly. Her papa heaved a sigh of relief, but Arielle just giggled at her success, not at all daunted. “Papa Dee here?” Arielle asked, causing her papa to stare at her with narrowed eyes for a few moments.

(What she didn’t know was that the man was having a fierce debate with Chat over whether she meant to call Dream ‘Papa’, or simply didn’t stress the right part of the sentence to convey her meaning. In Chat’s case, they were evenly split and Techno eventually decided to ignore them and not think about it before they gave him a migraine.)

“Not yet, Arielle, but he will-” Her papa was cut off when something heavy dropped into the pool of water in the next room. Arielle’s head snapped around, just knowing that it was her uncle, and she was running towards the door to their living space before the god even announced it. “Wait- Arielle!” Her papa called, and before she could get very far, a hand snagged the back of her sleeping clothes. She was lifted into the air with a squeal, and Arielle giggled in delight as she was deposited in her father’s arms. A moment later, a familiar masked man stepped into the room, a wrapped parcel in one hand and the other carrying a bag. A feeling of safety and familiarity washed over Arielle, and she giggled and made grabby hands at the person who’d caused it. 

“Hey birthday girl!” Her uncle called, gently setting his cargo down before stepping forward and ruffling her hair. Arielle laughed, hands going up to chase after Dee’s arm as he stepped away, and while the little girl couldn’t see his face, she could tell that he was grinning. “Hey Tech. I got the cake.” Dee nodded up to her papa, who shifted Arielle a little in his arms into a more secure and comfortable position.
“Good. Let me get Arielle dressed and then we can give her the presents.” Her papa’s voice rumbled through Arielle’s body, causing her to grin and settle into the comfort her papa always provided.

Thankfully, it didn’t take too long for Techno to guide his daughter into one of the many dresses he’d created for her, and soon the warrior was shepherding the little girl into the next room. Dream had already headed in there to get the final things, such as his present and the cake, set up. Arielle paused at the door to the room, glancing questioningly between it and Techno, and the man smiled a little when he realised she was asking for permission in her own way. “Sure, you can go in now.” Techno ushered. Arielle didn’t need to be told twice, and with a little help from her father, she heaved the wooden door open and stepped into the room. 

It looked wildly different from when she’d last seen it, and Arielle jolted to a stop as her mouth fell open. The walls were covered with multicoloured, papered strings, and the chests that littered the slightly cramped space had all been shoved to one side to make more room. A comfy-looking grey rug covered the newly-available floor space, and right behind it, a new door had been installed in the archway leading to the enchanting room. Sat in front of that door was the table that had disappeared from their living room the day before, and it was covered in various sparkling, rainbow confetti. To the side of the table was a veritable mountain of green and pink balloons, as if Dream and Techno had decided to prove which of their signature colours were more ‘superior’ based on how many balloons of their respective colours they had. And finally, on top of the table, three various-sized presents sat there, carefully wrapped and surrounding a small, bright red cake with two unlit candles in it.

Techno nodded to Dream, who was standing on the right side of the table, and the green-clad man shot a thumbs up back. Arielle trotted over to the table, eyes wide, and wobbled on her tiptoes to try and see over it. “What they?” The little girl carefully enunciated, pointing at the presents, and Techno chuckled as he lowered himself into a crossed-legged position on the rug in the room. “They’re yours, Arielle.” The man spoke, and the little girl tilted her head and huffed a little, an instinctive sound of confusion and questioning that Techno recognised immediately. “Mine?” Arielle chirped again as Dream carefully picked one of the presents off the table. “Yep! All yours! Come and sit down and then you can open them!” The god replied, ushering Arielle to sit next to her father. Dream sat with his back to the table on the other side of the child and placed the rather sizable box in front of the curious girl. 

Arielle glanced once between Dream, her father, and then the box, before reaching for the pink bow on top. She immediately yanked it off, letting the wrapping paper unfold naturally, and was left staring at a nondescript box. Making a noise of enquiry, Arielle shuffled forward on her bottom a little more before she could reach forward and easily lift the lid off. Peering inside, Arielle’s face lit up and she squealed. Techno smiled, sharing a look with Dream as the little girl pulled out two new plushies with delight. The one Techno had fashioned was a golden crown made of the softest fabric he’d found, and stuffed with spun sheep wool and feathers. The crown was almost a replica of his own headwear, and Arielle evidently noticed this, as she glanced between where it sat on a hook on the wall, and back to her own new toy. Her other plushy Dream had gotten, and it, as Techno expected, was a carbon copy of the man’s own mask. It was a bright-off white colour that Techno mentally winced at, knowing that it would never look that clean ever again. The smiley face was stitched with several layers of bold, black overlapping thread, and Arielle ran her fingers over it, tracing them in the exact same way she’d always done with Dream’s actual mask. 

“Do you like them, Ari?” Dream asked, and Techno relaxed as the little girl shot probably the biggest and brightest grin he’d ever seen as the god. “Yes! Love!” Ari squealed, hugging the plushies to her chest, and Techno chuckled. Dream reached up behind him to grab his own present, which was significantly smaller and was a box that fit neatly into his hand. He passed it to Arielle, who stared at it curiously after placing her new plushies on her lap. She easily knocked the lid off and picked out a silver bangle from the box with a confused hum. Turning it around in her hands, she squinted at the strange letters engraved into the metal, almost feeling like she should know what it meant, but didn’t. “Here, let me put it on for you, Ari.” Dream reached forward and gently slipped the bangle over the little girl’s wrist. Immediately it shrunk, and Arielle squeaked a little as it pressed snugly but comfortably against her skin.

Techno shot a questioning glance at Dream, who answered as Arielle continued to examine her new piece of jewellery. “It’s a protection bracelet my… sister gave to me. I don’t need it now, so I thought it would help Arielle more. Plus, I can track her with it.” Dream explained, and Techno didn’t bring attention to the way the god’s voice wobbled over bringing up a sister the warrior never knew the man had. 

Finally it was time for the last present, and Dream did a double take as he caught sight of the absolutely maniacal grin on Techno’s face. Arielle ripped into the only present that wasn’t in a box, and hummed as she lifted a glittering blue fabric from the pile of paper. Dream groaned the moment he caught sight of the fluffy white fur surrounding the top rim of the fabric, and Techno just indicated for Arielle to hand the fabric to him. As Techno unravelled it, Arielle squealed as the child-sized cloak was revealed. It was a light blue in colour, almost like ice, and covered in little golden crowns and snowflakes. The bottom rim of the cloak was etched with white thread, as if to mimic laid snow, and the top was surrounded by white fluffy fur, just like Techno’s own cloak. 

“So that’s what you were doing.” Dream mumbled, but Techno just ignored him. Instead, he reached forward and swung the cloak around Arielle’s shoulders before clipping it in place. Arielle grinned beautifically as it settled around her, twisting from side to side and giggling as the material swished around her legs. It fit her perfectly, and Techno grinned at the sight. “You’ve made her into a mini you!” Dream exclaimed, but Techno just smirked.
“Not yet.” He said, before reaching into a bag to his side that both Arielle and Dream had ignored before. The warrior drew out a bundle wrapped in what looked like silk, and Dream’s eyes boggled as Techno unwrapped the fabric. Inside sat a glittering silver tiara made from what looked like interweaved silver branches. On the branches hung little turquoise gemstones, and the whole piece sparkled like a thousand diamonds in the candle light of the cavern. Reaching forward, Techno placed the tiara on his daughter’s head, tucking it under her hair so it was secure. Sitting back, Techno surveyed his handy work even as Dream gaped in the corner. 

Just then, it hit the warrior. Eyes widening, Techno suddenly remembered when Phil had given him his own first crown, placing the ornament on his head just as softly as he had for Arielle. “My little king, ‘ey Tech? You’ll-”
“-be a great queen one day, Arielle.” Techno softly murmured, although with how enamoured the little girl was with her new cloak and crown, he didn’t think she’d heard him. His mind flashed to spires covered in ice, standing on a balcony with his father and dressed in blue royal fabrics. The crown had been heavy on his head then, but no less welcome, and for the first time, Techno could see his daughter following his path just as easily as the pinkett had followed Phil’s. At least for a time.

Dream shot a slightly confused glance at Techno, a movement the man only caught by the slight tilting of the god’s head. Techno just waved him off, standing to his feet as Arielle made a beeline towards the table. She almost tripped over her cloak in her haste, causing Techno and Dream to tense, but the little girl regained her balance with some frantically pinwheeling arms. “Cake now?” Arielle called to her father, who huffed out an amused breath.
“Yeah, we can have cake now, Arielle.” The little girl cheered, and Dream chuckled as he stood up next to him.
“And I thought my bangle was good. You really outdid yourself this time, Techno.” Dream murmured, heading over to Arielle before the little girl managed to pull the entire cake off of the table. Techno let a soft smile grace his face as he watched his little girl beam and dance, her cloak and tiara different and yet somehow also the exact same as his own. “Of course. For her, anything. Anything and everything.” Techno muttered to himself before heading over to secure himself a slice of cherry cake.

Chapter Text

Techno huffed in amusement as Arielle dug into the last smidge of cake left over from her birthday two days ago. Even with the cake barely big enough to fit in Techno’s palm, it was still far too large for a two year old to manage in a single day, and so the little girl had enjoyed three days of cherry cake after dinner. And enjoy it she did; it had become a bit of a battle to get the little girl to actually eat her dinner before demanding cake, and when he’d made the mistake of threatening to not give her cake as a punishment for refusing her food, the wails she produced nearly shook the room. Techno swore his ears had almost been bleeding at the volume of the noise. 

“Papa, more?” Arielle asked, blinking large, glittering gold and deceptively innocent eyes at her father. That expression had been weaponized down to a fine art by the child, although thankfully after six months of exposure, Techno was building up a resistance. “Sorry Arielle. There’s no more left.” Techno gingerly explained, crossing his fingers behind the book he was reading and hoping for no explosion. Thankfully, the gods were on his side that day, and Arielle just huffed and scowled at her now-empty plate, as if the act of looking upset with it would magically conjure more cake for her. Techno hid a small grin behind his book at that expression. ‘She’d get on great with Tommy…’ Techno mused, before his face paled and he shuddered at the thought. His mind conjured up images of TNT and hellfire raining down, Arielle and Tommy giggling maniacally side by side, and he grimaced. ‘On second thought…’

Techno heard Arielle carefully slip from her small chair with a huff and all but collapse to the stone floor on her back. Techno raised an eyebrow at the action, watching as his daughter just laid there, spread eagle on the cold tiled floor, before rolling his eyes. He chalked it up to her familiar dramatics that could give Wilbur a run for his money, before tuning back into his book. Of course, he didn’t completely ignore his daughter; he’d quickly mastered the act of paying attention both to what he wanted to do, as well as his tiny breakable child to ensure she didn’t, well, break. Dream had made that mistake the first time he’d met the girl, and by now Techno knew how mischievous his daughter had grown to be (something which he completely blamed Dream for). He was determined not to make the same mistake.

“Owwie…” Arielle whined, rolling around on the floor, and like a hound scenting blood, Techno’s eyes immediately shot up. The little girl snuffled a little more, grunting with a frown of effort on her face. It almost looked like she was trying to rub the back of her neck and shoulders against the ground, and Techno’s anxiety immediately dialled up to one hundred as she made a small pained noise again. “Arielle?” Techno called, gracefully standing up from his chair and heading over to the child. He carefully placed his book on the table as he passed it and then stared down at Arielle, who blinked up at him with irritated and confused golden eyes. “What’s wrong?” Arielle just bit her lip again with a grunt.
“Owchies.” Arielle said, one of the first words Techno and Dream had taught her. With their professions and somewhat infamous reputations, there was no way they were going to put off teaching the little girl how to verbalise if she was hurt, even as young as she was.

Techno frowned, crouching down and resting the palm of his hand on Arielle’s forehead. She was blessedly cool as always (probably too cool for a part-piglin, but Techno was determined not to think about that-), and Techno’s concern only grew. “Well, you’re not sick…” Arielle shook her head slightly in agreement.
“Not icky. Owchie.” Arielle reiterated.
“Where, Arielle? Show me where.” Arielle pulled such a deadpan expression of displeasure that Techno would have been startled to see it on any other two year old, but he’d long gotten used to seeing it on his daughter. The little pinkette seemed to mull over the pros and cons of listening to her father for a few moments before obediently rolling over onto her stomach and pointing as well as she could to the back of her neck. Techno’s hands immediately moved to the area and he gently lifted the little girl’s wild pink curls away from her skin. However, the moment his eyes landed on what had been causing Arielle’s distress, he hissed and had to swallow a curse.

The back of Arielle’s neck was inflamed and red, clearly irritated. It spread all the way from her hairline to where her neck met her shoulders and curled up and around the backs of her ears. Thankfully, when Techno gently tilted the little girl’s head and checked the side of her head, it didn’t spread past her ears. The ears themselves, however, were a completely different story. They were far more pointed than they had been when Techno had first been given Arielle, and the skin itself seemed to have… changed. The tops were straight until they met the point, but from there they feathered down to meet with her head in a strange, bedraggled butterfly-esque appearance. In fact, the whole ear seemed to mould from normal, pink human skin to a dark, starry butterfly membrane that looked like the perfect blend of all the different dark shades of purple, blue and pink that existed, as well as a dash of black for good measure. The colour seemed glittery, iridescent almost, and interestingly enough, tiny streaks of glittering gold twined through the delicate veins within the thin material. They reminded Techno of a cloudless night sky, and as Techno gently nudged the ear with a fingertip, it twitched and fluttered, and Arielle giggled a little at the sensation. Eyes wide, Techno gently moved from Arielle’s ear and turned to check the inflammation covering Arielle’s neck. It didn’t take the warrior long to realise that it was centred mainly on her spine at the point where her neck met her skull, and Techno used the pad of his thumb to gently feel the area. Arielle whined at the contact, but Techno quietly huffed at her to keep her still. The skin felt thin and papery - incredibly dry - and Techno bit his lip in concern. 

“Okay, I can see how that’s upsetting you, Arielle.” Techno calmly spoke, turning Arielle over so she could sit up on the floor. She blinked up at him with wide eyes, and Techno berated himself over wondering how on earth he’d missed this before now. Sure, it was the first sign of pain he’d ever seen from Arielle, and yes he’d noticed the darker colouration her ears had taken on before. However, he’d assumed it was a birthmark, and it had looked like it as well a few days ago. Somehow, the small child had gone from normal, if a little strangely coloured and more pointed, human ears, to butterfly ears, in the span of not even a week. And the worst part was that he had no idea what had caused it. 

“Arielle, c’mere. Lets get your boots on; I think it’s time for a healer visit.” Techno mumbled, gently lifting his daughter off the floor and into his arms. However, before he even had a chance to take a single step towards the rack that housed his outdoor clothes, as well as Arielle’s new cloak, a figure all but slammed into the water pit into the base. Arielle squeaked in surprise, although it came out as more of a shriek that bit into Techno’s ears, and the warrior in question immediately wrenched the small knife he always carried on him from his belt. A moment later however, a very familiar green form stepped into the room, cursing and spluttering, and Techno relaxed with an annoyed huff and tucked his knife away again. “Dream, what the hel-ck man?” Techno corrected hastily, gently rubbing a rattled Arielle’s head to calm her down. The god in question just groaned, shaking his hood off and sending water flying in nearly every direction. In fact, now that Techno was calming down, he noticed that Dream seemed to be utterly drenched. Usually the ambient magic Techno had painstakingly carved into the stone of the water column with runes would dry anyone who went through, both ways included. However, Dream must have dived in so quickly that the magic hadn’t even had a chance to take hold. Techno’s eyebrows raised at the thought; not even he could go that fast. 

“Sorry, sorry. Had to be quick.” Dream muttered, stumbling over to a chair and almost missing it completely in his rush to sit down. “Pogtopia’s recruited another one; it’s Quackity. He’s been sniffing around and nearly caught me going in-” Techno’s eyes widened in horror at that, but Dream’s arms flew up immediately to placate him. “No, no! It’s fine! He didn’t see me; I was too fast. It’s fine.” Techno relaxed at that.
“Gods, Dream. You of all people know what would happen if anyone made it in here!” Techno hissed, momentarily ignoring Arielle’s high-pitched, rumbly purr as she rubbed her head against Techno’s throat in an entirely instinctual piglin comfort action. Dream just huffed heavily and nodded, unclipping his mask and letting it drop into his hands, where he unceremoniously dumped it on the chest lid next to him. The man’s sincere green eyes met Techno’s and the warrior huffed out a breath at the regret and fading fear he spotted there. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I nearly didn’t notice him. I’ll need to tag him like the others, since he’s part of Pogtopia now…” Dream trailed off, almost talking more to himself than the other two people in the room. 

Unfortunately however, while Arielle was being incredibly patient, her limit quickly ran out when it felt like her neck was covered in pins and needles. Huffing out a while, Arielle tilted her head back so she could rub her neck against her father’s silk shirt. Wincing, Techno moved the child to the side so she couldn’t aggravate her skin even further, causing her to snort in annoyance and frustration. “Sorry, Arielle. No more scratching; you’ll make it worse.” Dream watched the scene with confusion painted plainly across his face before he all but hopped to his feet and headed over to the father-daughter pair. 
“What’s going on?” The god enquired, and Techno simply lifted Arielle’s hair to reveal a single changed ear and the raging red rash covering the entirety of the back of her neck. Dream hissed in sympathy, lifting a hand and curling it gently around the little girl’s neck. She relaxed almost immediately with a sigh, and Techno raised an eyebrow. Dream met the expression and shrugged, his cheeks slightly coloured and looking sheepish. “I just cooled my hand down. I thought it might help. What caused this, anyway?” Techno just scowled.
“No idea. Plus, what kind of illness causes that?” Techno gestured to Arielle’s ear, and Dream leaned forward with an expression that was half curious and half concerned.
“I… have no idea. Nothing that I’ve ever come across, that’s for sure.”
“Same here. I was going to bring her to that healer a few villages over, but with Quackity sniffing around…” Dream grimaced in agreement, taking his hand back and swapping it with the other. Arielle let out what almost sounded like a happy chirp at the refreshed coolness, causing Techno and Dream to share a startled glance. “Are you sure you’re not related to Phil, Tech?” Dream asked after a few seconds of silence, earning a heavy scowl from the warrior in question.
“No. You know I’m not.” Dream just hummed, studying how Arielle was nearly asleep in her fathers arms with keen green eyes.

“Well, we can’t bring her anywhere without risking running into Quackity on the way…” Dream mused, and Techno scowled.
“Yeah, but that rash isn’t normal, Dream. She needs to see a healer!” Techno argued, the concern for his daughter battling with his logical mind. Dream scowled at him, as if sensing the accusation that hadn’t even come yet. “I know. But it’d be worse if Quackity spotted her and then blabbed. It’d get around the server in a day, maybe even less! Then we’d have more than the occasional illness and Arielle’s own lack of self-preservation to worry about!” Dream snarked back, and much to Techno’s annoyance, he wasn’t exactly wrong.
“Can’t you just… I don’t know, teleport us out?” Techno asked, and Dream huffed and rolled his eyes.
“I could, if I wanted to alert half the damn server. Teleporting doesn’t exactly take a small amount of power, and I’d have to use even more to place protections around Arielle due to her young age. The power left behind would point out your base like a flare, even if people wouldn’t know what was here to begin with. A lot of the off-worlders here are hybrids, Techno, and some are pretty damn sensitive to energy usage. And I’d be putting out a lot.” Dream explained, and Techno scowled, defeated. His mind ran in circles, trying to figure out a solution. Chat wasn’t helping matters, split between wanting him to sneak out with Arielle or stay put (although there was that radical group that really really wanted Dream to teleport them out just to see what it was like, consequences be damned).

Huffing out an explosive breath, Techno spun on his heel, forcing Dream to detach himself from Arielle in the process, and gently stalked into the next room. He plopped down on his bed, wincing when Arielle stirred a little before falling back to sleep. Dream strolled into the room a moment later, looking far more relaxed after realising Techno had come to his decision. “What if she gets worse, Dream. I- I care far more for her than I do keeping this place secret.” Techno admitted, and Dream, against his wishes, felt himself soften.
“I know, Tech. But this is the only safe place you have for her, so losing it should be a complete last resort. But-” Dream quickly added when he spotted the warrior opening his mouth to protest. “-but, if Arielle gets any worse, I’ll teleport you and her out immediately, okay? People noticing be damned. For now it’s just some irritation, it looks like. I can get you a recipe for a salve my-” Dream cut himself off with a swallow. “-someone I knew before had made. It works really well.” Dream compromised, and Techno sagged with a nod.

“Fine. Fine.” Techno watched as Arielle rubbed her face absently against his shirt as she slept, her lips curled into a little smile. One of her ears twitched a little, as if she were dreaming, and Techno felt a smile twist his face almost without his permission. ‘This can’t get worse.’ Techno vowed to himself, eyes narrowing when his eyes caught on the edges of the red rash creeping around the side of Arielle’s neck. ‘Cause if this does and fucking Quackity is the reason?’ Techno’s face twisted into a snarl as his thoughts turned dark and violent, Chat echoing him. It almost felt like the drums of war were beating in his mind, and he paid no attention to the quick glance Dream shot at him from across the room, where he was trying and failing to dry his hoodie off next to the warrior’s furnaces. ‘If this gets worse, there won’t be a place in existence that could hide him from me.’ Techno vowed, almost tasting the bloodlust on the back of his tongue, and Chat howled with jubilation in his mind. It had been a while since they’d been treated to a good hunt, after all.

Chapter Text

Dream huffed and readjusted Arielle on his hip, making sure she was secure before standing. Techno was pacing back and forth in front of him and had been for the last ten minutes, to the detriment of Dream’s ever shrinking patience. The warrior had initially busied himself with putting together a travel pack for his daughter and then getting his own supplies ready. However, he’d steamrolled right through those tasks in record time, and now his pent up agitation wasn’t letting the man rest.

Dream rolled his eyes as Techno started going through Arielle’s pack once again, as if it could have magically changed from the last several times he’d checked it in the last few minutes. “Techno, it’s fine. We’re only going to the neighbouring village. It’s not even half a day’s journey, even on foot. She’ll be fine.” Dream assured again, not able to stop the slight annoyance from slipping into his tone. Techno caught it immediately and shot him a glare, before deflating after a few seconds. The warrior knew Dream was right, after all, even if he didn’t want to accept it. Even Chat wasn’t happy with having Arielle leave the bunker, and that was only made worse by the fact that Techno wouldn’t be going with her. The otherworldly entities inhabiting Techno’s mind had become increasingly protective of the little girl, to the point where the rare voices calling for her death were silenced within seconds. The first time it had happened, Techno had nearly toppled over from shock; it had sounded like a rabid horde had just smothered the errant voices with so much prejudice that they literally suffocated. The sensation had been more than a little disturbing, and it had taken a while for Techno to ignore the sudden violence Chat displayed towards some of their more insane members. 

However, despite this strange increase in activity of Chat, the voices hadn’t once led the man wrong when it came to Arielle. Sure, they never ceased to be practical jokers, and usually if Arielle started babbling, Chat would copy until it was like Techno had thousands of toddlers talking nonsense at him instead of only the one. He assumed that it was Chat’s way of trying to communicate with Arielle, conveniently ignoring the fact that no-one but he could hear them. However, the warrior had quickly given up in trying to understand Chat’s motivations; they were about as transparent to understand as solid rock, as per usual. On the other hand, Chat had saved Techno a lot of headaches and heart attacks. For example, the voices seemed to have an innate knowledge of where Arielle was at all times, which came in particularly handy when the little girl decided to play hide and seek in the bunker without telling Techno first. 

There were also a multitude of other reasons Techno was actually starting to tentatively trust Chat with Arielle, such as them memorising the little girl’s somewhat erratic schedule and reminding Techno of some of the things he’d forgotten to do for her, such as prepare some extra food for her, or wash one of her favourite dresses. Chat just seemed to get exactly what Techno needed to do to care for his girl, and so on the days where Techno’s head was in every place but on earth, or when he’d had a particularly gruelling and trying day in Pogtopia, Chat would be there to pick up the slack. It was the most cooperative Chat had ever been, and although Techno did wonder why on earth they’d changed now, he wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Therefore, the fact that Chat was actually warning Techno to not let Arielle leave the bunker? It was driving him to the very edge of his anxiety.

Dream quickly swiped the travel pack from Techno’s hands the moment he tied it back up, earning a peeved glance from the man. Dream just rolled his eyes, not that it could be seen behind his mask, and absently began to rub Arielle’s back when she started to squirm and whimper again. Her neck hadn’t gotten any better in the last few days; in fact, it seemed like the rash was spreading down her spine. It wasn’t bleeding or getting worse apart from spreading, thankfully, but it was clear the little girl was reaching the end of her frankly incredible patience with the constant discomfort. The two men had wanted to wait for a few more days before braving the outside world with Arielle, but Techno couldn’t stomach leaving his daughter in pain any longer, even if it was to protect her. So, there they were, Dream steeling himself for the most important stealth mission of his life, and Techno preparing to give the most convincing and distracting performance of his career. 

“Techno, you need to leave now. The sooner you get to Pogtopia, the faster I can get this little one to the healer.” Dream bargained, hoisting Arielle further up onto his hip as she twisted and whined. Techno’s face crumpled at the sound, but he took in a deep breath and steeled himself. “Right, right…” He mumbled as he darted across the room to grab his belt. He hooked all of his necessary tools onto it (which included his sword and pickaxe, while his axe was strapped to his back under his cloak), and fiddled with the straps a little more. However, Dream knew a stalling tactic when he saw one and frowned. “Techno, c’mon. She’ll be fine. And if she’s not fine, I’ll call you right away.” Dream reassured, but all he got was a dry look back.
“That’s mighty reassuring Dream.” Techno drawled, although the slight tremor to his voice betrayed his worry.
“Techno. Go.” Dream sighed out, his patience wearing thin. Thankfully, Techno seemed to get his act together in that moment and he nodded, straightening up and marching to the bubble column. “The moment you find out what’s wrong, you call me. Got it?” Techno demanded, and Dream nodded with a hidden eye roll.
“Of course.”

“Tech!” Arielle called then, waving at Techno as he grew closer to the column. She’d gotten used to seeing her father leave and assumed then that Dream would be staying with her, just like he always did. It was her routine, after all, and she had no reason to believe it would change. However, her sore back and itchy skin was stripping her patience thin, and she decided that today, she really didn’t like the idea of her father leaving her. “No!” Arielle shrieked, making grabby hands at Techno, and he grimaced. Dream similarly winced, trying to turn away so that Arielle wouldn’t see Techno leave, but she just twisted to look over his shoulder and yelled. “No leave! Tech!” Arielle cried, and Techno had to muster every ounce of his self control to force himself to turn away from his teary daughter and throw himself through the bubble column. However, it didn’t stop Arielle’s angered screams from following him as he sped away into the lake. “Good luck, Dream.” Techno muttered dryly to himself as he picked himself out of the lake. He took one last look down into the depths of the water before huffing and shaking himself dry and beginning to make the very familiar trek to Pogtopia’s ravine.

Quackity watched with bated breath as Techno thumped down the stairs of the Pogtopia ravine, looking as untouchable as ever. His armour and tools gleamed, some of the only pieces of netherite owned by anyone in their little resistance group, and Quackity couldn’t stop himself from swallowing in fear. He’d been valiantly ignoring and avoiding the pigman hybrid ever since he’d been recruited by Tommy in the woods, and so far it had been going decently well. Unfortunately for Quackity however, his luck was about to run out.

“Hallooo!” Techno called, his voice booming through the ravine. Quackity jumped with a squeak from where he’d just been trying to organise a few chests at the bottom of the ravine, almost letting a whole pile of golden ingots crash to the ground. Wincing as one landed on his (thankfully armoured) foot, Quackity hurriedly dumped the pile into his newly designated ‘metal’ chest and grabbed the escapee. “Quackity.” Techno’s voice suddenly came up right behind the man and he yelped, spinning around and almost toppling arse over teakettle when he tripped on a chest. “Fucking- O-oh, hi T-Techno!” Quackity’s voice grew high with his fear, but Techno just raised an eyebrow.
“Where’s everyone else?” Techno rumbled, and Quackity nearly spat out the answer with how quickly he tried to respond.
“Uh- they- Wilbur’s in his r-room, with Tubbo I th-think? Not sure where N-Niki and Tommy are.” Quackity stuttered, but unlike what his brain was trying to scare him with, Techno didn’t immediately try and murder him. Instead, he just nodded and tilted his head a little, studying the newest addition to Pogtopia with almost hawk-like intensity. Quackity swallowed and felt sweat break out across his forehead, but didn’t dare move. The pair remained like that for several moments before Techno frowned and opened his mouth to speak, almost causing Quackity’s life to flash across his eyes.

“Techno! My dear friend! What do you need?” Wilbur’s shrill call echoed from further down the ravine, causing Techno to pause before he could say anything. He turned away from Quackity and almost seemed to immediately forget that he existed, and the man had to grip onto a nearby chest to keep his trembling legs from giving out on him. The others were also emerging from their rooms, although Tubbo looked less than happy, and Tommy was wearing the scowl that had been all but etched into his features for the last few months. 

“I need you all for a mining trip. There’s a huge cavern I found a little while ago to the south with some decent loot, but it’s pretty infested.” Techno explained once everyone had gathered. Wilbur quirked an amused eyebrow and crossed his arms, studying Techno who’d deceptively relaxed under the scrutiny. “Really? You need help with mobs? Can’t you deal with it yourself?” Wilbur drawled, but Techno was unmoved apart from an unamused raised eyebrow.
“If I had a death wish, sure. Remind me again who’s keeping this rebellion afloat?” Techno snarked, his voice as dry as a desert, and Wilbur’s amused smirk slid right off his face. Immediately, Tubbo took two large steps back to hide behind Niki, who also inched backwards. Only Tommy remained unmoved, but he did tense as if he were getting ready for a fight.

Quackity watched everyone’s reactions with wide eyes, not sure if they all knew how telling they were being. Quackity had always been adept at reading people; it had been something his late father had helped him cultivate before his death, and it had helped him in the political field too many times to count. And at that moment, Quackity came to the realisation that Pogtopia wasn’t quite the united front they presented. Techno and Wilbur’s hostile body language seemed almost instinctive, as if they couldn’t help but slide into defensive and aggressive positions against each other. Niki and Tubbo’s movement hinted at a well planned escape route that they’d run several times, and Tommy’s defensiveness made it clear that he was the one to cover their flank. It all looked like they were getting ready for war against each other rather than Manberg, and Quackity wondered if it had really been the right choice to leave Schlatt after all. Then he remembered exactly what Schlatt had done to force him to run and Quackity knew that anywhere was better than back there.

“Fine, fine. Right! Gear up everyone!” Wilbur backed down eventually from the staring contest, something the others seemed to expect based off of their lack of reaction. Techno seemed to deflate as well, an expression of troubled despair flashing across his face for a split second before it was wiped away in favour of a blank poker face. He stalked away, further into the ravine as everyone began to gather their weapons and armour, and Quackity watched him go. “Hey Niki?” The man piped up suddenly, addressing the woman who was grabbing a gleaming diamond blade down from the wall to his right.
“Yes, Quackity?” She asked, turning to look at him with imploring eyes.
“What just happened?” Quackity squeaked out and Niki sighed. She hooked the pommel of her blade to her belt, lacking a proper sheath like the majority of them, and wandered over. 

“Techno and Wilbur have been at each other’s throats for a week or so now.” Niki started, and Quackity frowned. “I think I might have sparked it.” She admitted a few moments later, and Quackity’s eyebrows flew to his hairline.
“What? How?” Niki bit her lip, grimacing, before heaving out a shaky breath.
“Well, Techno came to me asking about the revolution. Wilbur has some… extravagant plans to win which we don’t agree with, and Techno was asking my opinion on them. Long story short, we fought, and then the next time Techno shows up, he’s challenging Wilbur’s ideas left and right.” Niki explained, and Quackity let out a little thoughtful ‘huh’ in response.
“Aren’t they brothers though?” Quackity asked, but Niki just shot him an amused, almost sympathetic look.
“Quackity, just because they’re brothers doesn’t mean they won’t fight.” Niki explained, and although Quackity found her tone of voice a little condescending, he knew she wasn’t wrong. “But… yes. They are brothers. It’s just… this war has been hard on all of us, and they’re not the exception. We need to remember that.” Niki was staring off in the direction Techno had gone when she said that, and Quackity followed her gaze. All of a sudden, he realised that the revolution wasn’t quite the righteous fight he’d thought, and he internally berated himself for being such a fool. Everyone there was fighting for their own reasons and suffering for it, and it calmed Quackity a little to realise that despite his reputation, Technoblade was a person too, just like everyone else.

Chapter Text

Dream hissed as Arielle yanked on a lock of his hair for the tenth time in as many minutes, her whines threatening to break into the wailing cries they’d been only twenty minutes before. Techno had already been gone almost two hours, but it had taken Dream that long to simply calm Arielle down from her meltdown and seeing her father leaving. They’d been travelling through the woods for not even half an hour, and already the small child was testing every ounce of patience Dream had. However, the god knew he couldn’t blame her; if he had a huge, weeping rash covering the entirety of his spine, he’d be pretty damn grumpy as well.

“Ow ow ow- Arielle, no! Let go.” Dream whispered harshly, trying to keep his voice down. They were nowhere near outside of the range of the offworlder’s centrelands, and the last thing Dream wanted was to run into another member of his world. Those who had lived in his world since its inception wouldn’t bat an eye, since most didn’t have the spark of magic required to travel between worlds and so their focus would slip right off of him if he wanted, and by extension, Arielle. It was a simple ability all gods had, although unfortunately not godlings, which would have made Dream’s clusterfuck of a childhood much easier. However it didn’t work as well on offworlders, those who could pass between the boundaries of the worlds, and it certainly made sneaking past them much more difficult.

Arielle pouted and threw her head back from where she strapped to Dream’s back, for ease of his movement in case he needed to take off in a hurry. His trusty axe Nightmare, which usually hung on his back, was instead strapped to his belt and Dream hoped he wouldn’t conveniently forget that Arielle was on his back and try to draw her like she was a weapon. That would be an awkward explanation for Techno. Shaking his head, Dream winced when the last strands of his hair still clenched in Arielle’s fingers pulled, and he gently reached back to detangle the toddler’s grip. “C’mon Ari, work with me here.” Dream grumbled, shoving his way through even more brushland. He’d taken the longer route in an effort to avoid the most well-travelled areas of the centrelands (the area of his world where the offworlders lived), but that meant trekking through miles of untouched wilderness. It certainly slowed Dream down, and not for the first time the god wished that he could’ve gotten away with just teleporting himself and Arielle to their destination.

“Dee! Owchies!” Arielle pined, although her voice was quieter than it had been several minutes ago and Dream let himself entertain the idea of her managing to fall asleep.
“I know, I know Ari. We’re going somewhere where they’ll get rid of your owchies, okay?” Dream bargained, his voice faintly strained. His eyes were peeled in keeping an eye out, and comforting Arielle was draining his dangerously low patience. “No! Hurts!” Arielle cried suddenly, much louder than Dream liked, and he hissed and ducked into the underbrush immediately. Arielle continued to cry, not once responding to Dream’s frantic attempts to quiet her down, and soon he could feel tears seeping through the back of his jumper. “Arielle! Quiet!” Dream demanded, voice low and almost growling. Arielle choked on her next wail as Dream quickly pulled her off of his back and sat her on his crouched knee. He’d never had to raise his voice like that before at her, and Arielle wasn’t entirely sure how to handle it.

Dream winced when he saw the faintly terrified expression on Arielle’s teary face and slipped his mask off his face. He didn’t even care as it clinked against the ground, and instead just gave into the urge to lean his forehead against the trembling little girl’s. It was an instinct he thought he’d smothered nearly two hundred years ago, but something about Arielle brought back all the repressed memories he’d tried so hard to forget, and his old mannerisms were coming back with them. “Sorry Ari- I- sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.” Dream apologised, rubbing Arielle’s forehead with his own. She leaned into him then with a whine, little hands coming to grip at the front of his jumper, and Dream exhaled shakily. “We have to be quiet at the moment, Ari, okay? So no being loud. Loud is bad.” Dream tried to explain, and judging by the way the little girl nodded against him, she thankfully seemed to understand.
“No loud.” Arielle parroted and Dream pulled back to smile at her. Her eyes were still a little teary still, but her expression was calm and Dream allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief at having stopped her meltdown in its tracks.

“Here- this should help, Ari.” Dream muttered as he stood up carefully and shifted Arielle onto his hip. He managed to snake one arm behind her back, carefully placing it over the worst of her rash, and then concentrated on cooling the blood in that arm. Immediately pins and needles broke out across the limb as it went a little numb, but Arielle sighed happily and relaxed at the coolness soothing the irritation. Within moments her head was resting on his shoulder, eyelids fluttering, and Dream smiled a little at the sight. “Not long now Ari, and then we’ll take a break and put on more of that cream, yeah?” Dream bargained, but the little girl was too far gone into dreamland to give anything more than an absent hum back. Grinning, Dream made sure he had a tight grip on the girl before he swiped his mask back up and continued shouldering through the foliage, determined to make it to their destination before the little girl got any worse.

Dream breathed a sigh of relief as he kneeled in the tall grass, letting his pack fall off his shoulder. Arielle was still completely passed out on his side, and Dream had lost any feeling in his arm almost an hour beforehand. Wincing as he flooded his arm with warmth and it began the agonising process of waking up, Dream nudged Arielle with his head as he riffled through his pack with his free arm. Arielle woke with a grunt, clenching her eyes shut and burying her face into Dream’s shoulder with so much force that it nearly knocked him over. “Oof! Careful Ari.” Dream chuckled, deciding to sit cross legged on the ground instead of risk being knocked over. Arielle had proven that she’d inherited her strength from her father, and even as young as she was, it was shining through as clear as day.

“Mmm sleeeeepy.” Arielle whined, trying to resist being moved into Dream’s lap, but eventually the god won out and shifted the little girl into a sitting position against his chest.
“I know, I know. But if you stay awake for a little bit longer, I can put your cream on.” Dream haggled, and Arielle blinked one eye open to stare at him dispassionately. However, she didn’t immediately start screaming, so Dream took that as an acceptance, grudging as it was. Dream gently shifted Arielle around so that she was facing away from him before lifting her shirt and immediately wincing at the sight. While the redness had gone down a tiny bit from the coolness of his arm-turned-ice pack, the rash itself had spread further across her shoulders and down her back. It curled around her ribs, just barely stopping before it wrapped around to her front, and when Dream gently prodded at the skin there, it felt even frailer than before. It didn’t feel healthy anymore, as if the skin was dying, and there was a strange hardness just below the surface. Frowning, Dream muttered an apology when Arielle hissed a little as he surveyed the rash, knowing that in his near half a millenia alive, he’d never seen anything like it. “Okay, here we go, this should help Ari.” Dream announced, grabbing his pot of cream and slathering it liberally over her back. Immediately the little girl relaxed a little with a hum, and Dream had to try valiantly not to sneeze as the pungent scent of the paste hit the back of his throat.

“There we go! All done.” Dream announced five minutes later, letting Arielle’s top drop back down. The little girl had woken up fully by then, and when Dream glanced at her face, he caught her watching the scenery with wide eyes. Dream had positioned them in the centre of a decently large field filled with tall grass. Forests bordered them on every side, although to the east there were the foggy peaks of a few mountains just about visible. The mid-morning sun was casting bright rays across the land, and Dream smiled as one caught on Arielle’s hair and made it seem like it was glowing. “Pwetty…” Arielle breathed, reaching for a nearby cornflower and deftly picking it. She studied it with intense eyes, spinning the flower between her fingers and petting the petals. Dream let the little girl explore the flower while he packed their supplies into his pack, only leaving out two bottles of water and a sandwich for them to share. Dream hadn’t even spotted the food until he’d dug around in the bag for the cream, and the addition of the food had him rolling his eyes at Techno’s complete need to be prepared for anything. However, for that occasion, Dream couldn’t tease him too much. He was rather hungry, after all.

“Here Ari, some food-” Dream glanced up sharply when he registered that at some point, Arielle had slipped right off of his lap. Glancing wildly around, Dream’s heart picked up a panic rhythm until he spotted Arielle standing a few metres away in the grass. “Ari, thank the gods.” Dream breathed out in relief, before pausing as he took in the sight of the little girl. She wasn’t just wandering around aimlessly though, and was instead giggling wildly in glee. The reason became clear when Dream spotted a whole kaleidoscope of butterflies perched on Arielle’s outstretched arms, her shoulders, even her head. Several more fluttered gently around her, and Arielle sneezed before breaking into giggles when one tried to land on her nose. Dream could do nothing but watch with wide eyes, frozen in place, and he mused to himself that if he didn’t know any better, he’d have thought that Arielle, with the wind blowing through her curls, was some otherworldly fae creature.

Arielle turned around to face Dream in the next moment, grinning so widely that it almost looked painful. Her golden eyes were glittering in the sun, her face illuminated softly, and not one butterfly dislodged itself as she moved. “Look, Dee! Pwetty!” Arielle exclaimed, holding her now colourful arms towards him as if to give him a better look. Dream just nodded with wide eyes, not entirely sure how else to react to the situation. He’d never seen butterflies react like that, not even those that were hand-reared. And these most certainly weren’t; he’d made sure their route had no nearby settlements, and so every single animal around them was completely wild in nature. Instead, it just seemed like Arielle attracted them naturally, and Dream wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not that several of his thoughts, those that whispered that Arielle was just a bit more different than they’d all imagined, were coming close to being proven true.

Dream sat there for a long while, a soft smile on his face as Arielle giggled and shrieked in glee with her newfound friends. They fluttered around her head, teasing her changed ears and delicately lifting strands of her hair. He would have been happy to leave her to play, but soon the time ticking by could be ignored no longer. “Ari, c’mon. We need to go now.” Dream called gently, and Arielle pouted at him. “No, none of that. We need to get that back.” Dream spoke before Arielle could whine out her annoyance. She grimaced a little, as if drawing attention to her rash brought it back, before sighing and nodded. “‘Kaaay.” She drawled, before taking one large step forward and thrusting her arms into the air. 

It was like an explosion. The kaleidoscope all took off at once, swirling around Arielle like a hurricane and lifting her hair into the air. She shrieked in delight as she swooped and dived before dispersing into the woods, and Dream watched them go with a familiar sense of awe. “Come back?” Arielle wandered up to her uncle and asked, eyes imploring, and Dream nodded as he patted her head and handed her the half a sandwich he hadn’t eaten.
“Of course we can. Now eat up, we need to get moving soon.” Dream gently nudged. Arielle nodded and plopped down right then and there in the grass before digging into her sandwich, acting as if it was for all the world a regular picnic. However, if Dream had realised what bringing Arielle to those healers would do; what it would reveal and the upheaval it would cause, he wasn’t sure he would have been so calm.

Chapter Text

Dream heaved a huge sigh of relief as the village came into sight. Arielle was passed out cold in his arms, head curled towards his shoulder and short puffs of air tickling his ear. She’d thankfully slept nearly the entire way from the field they’d taken a break in nearly an hour before, and so the remainder of the journey to Techno’s favoured village was calm and peaceful for the god. However, it wasn’t exactly easy, and the green-clad man was just glad that the travelling, for now, was over. “Ari. Wake up kiddo.” Dream whispered to the child as he walked into the village. Arielle cracked an eye open with a groan before she shifted a little, Dream pausing so he could adjust his grip on her. Villages watched his progression with curious eyes, although they kept to themselves and their stances weren’t aggressive, so Dream was content to ignore them. 

“Right, where’s the healer…” Dream mumbled to himself as he meandered down the path. Arielle was awake by that point and looking around with wide, inquisitive eyes, and Dream winced as a sudden thought entered his mind. ‘Maybe keeping her underground so much isn’t so great for her. Might need to mention that to Techno…’
“Da!” Arielle suddenly piped up, pointing across the street. Dream followed her gaze and grinned when he spotted the little sweets shop that Arielle had somehow spotted. Then, the little girl stuck her nose in the air and sniffed deeply, and Dream suddenly understood. ‘Ah. Piglins and their sense of smell.’ Dream thought to himself with a fond chuckle.
“Hey Ari, if you’re good for the nice healer, we can get you some sweets afterwards. Deal?” Dream asked, and Arielle shot him a bright grin.
“‘Kay!”

Thankfully, when Dream glanced up at the sweet store again to remember where it was, a healer’s symbol caught the edge of his eye. Only two shops down sat the little shop Techno had described, complete with the yellow and blue sign outside. Sighing in relief, Dream made a beeline for the door and gently nudged it open with his shoulder. A little bell rang in to the left, behind an area cordoned off by a screen, and a few moments later a young woman bustled out from behind it. “Hello there! What can- oh, she’s back!” The healer took one look at Arielle and recognised her immediately, giving her a wave. Arielle shyly waved back, and Dream grinned behind his mask. “Hey there. She’s developed a pretty bad rash on her back, and her dad wanted to get it checked out.” Dream explained, following the woman as she beckoned him further into the shop.
“Of course, of course. Just plop her down on his bed here and I’ll take a looksie.” The woman cheerfully announced, pointing to the bed, and Dream gently set Arielle down. The little girl didn’t seem too perturbed by the new environment, not protesting being let go at all. In fact, she seemed far too busy rubbing the sheets between her fingers and staring at them as if she’d never seen the material before. Which, when Dream thought about it, she probably hadn’t; Techno could be a bit of a snob with his silk sheets, so regular cotton ones weren’t the norm for the child.

“Right, hello there sweetie.” The healer greeted as she returned, a bag tucked under one arm. Arielle smiled at the woman, bouncing a little on the bed, and the lady grinned back. “So, you’re not feeling so great, huh poppet?” The woman cooed, and Arielle frowned.
“No. Owchies!” The little girl called, and the woman made a sympathetic face.
“Aww, well if you roll over onto your tummy, I can take a look at your owchies and make them all better.” Arielle glanced at Dream, not entirely sure of what to make of a different person other than him or her father telling her what to do. However, when the god simply nodded at her, Arielle obediently rolled over onto her stomach. The healer immediately got to work, rolling the little girl’s silk shirt up as far as it could go. She hissed at the sight of the irritation, flushed red and weeping. “Well, that looks mighty uncomfortable.” The healer hummed to herself. “Have you been applying anything to it?” The woman asked Dream, who jolted a little at being addressed.
“Oh- yeah. I, uh, have the cream in my bag.” Dream explained while scrambling for the lotion. His nerves were through the roof now that he was actually in the healers, his mind praying constantly that it was something normal that would go away on its own. The last thing Dream wanted to have to do is call up Techno and tell him that Arielle was badly ill, or worse dying. He didn’t think he'd survive the warrior’s wrath if that was the case.

Dream handed over the little tub of cream and the healer popped it open to take a whiff. “Ah. Yes, this is what I would have recommended for this kind of thing. Good thinking.” The healer smiled at Dream and he relaxed a little with the knowledge that he hadn’t made things any worse. However, Arielle squirming impatiently on the bed caught both adult’s attention and the healer returned to gently surveying Arielle’s back. She frowned when she poked Arielle’s back and met the strange resistance Dream and Techno had both noticed, but immediately let go when Arielle squeaked in pain. “Oh I’m sorry, dear. Does that hurt?” The healer asked before humming when Arielle nodded emphatically.

Finally, after several more minutes of the woman gently pressing different areas of Arielle’s back and getting various reactions back, she stood up with a thoughtful frown on her face. Dream glanced quickly between the woman and Arielle, who was sitting herself up and yanking her top back down with extreme prejudice. “What is it?” Dream all but demanded, but the woman seemed unfazed by his attitude.
“Does her mother or father have any history of avians in the family?” The healer asked out of the blue, and Dream paused for a few moments, a little blindsided.
“Uh- no. Only adopted on her father’s side, but it's not biological.” Dream explained. If possible, the woman’s frown seemed to deepen at that, as if it was not the news she had been expecting.
“Okay… maybe some turtle? Even skeleton?” She listed, but with every negative shake of the head her confusion grew.
“Why? What do you think it is?” Dream asked, but the healer just shook her head.
“Well to me, it seemed like the start of the development of some hybrid feature. Like a turtle hybrid’s shell, a skeleton’s built-in bone armour, or even a particularly unlucky second gen’ avian who wasn’t born with their wings, but instead they grew in during later life.” Dream winced at the image that portrayed and the healer shot him an amused look, as she could read right what he was thinking even without seeing his face. “But she’d need to be at least a second gen’ of those hybrids to even have the chance to manifest their traits like that, and if you say she isn’t…” The healer trailed off, but Dream got the message. There was no chance it was that.

“Plus, her ears…” The healer pointed at them while Arielle shook her head, and they twitched a little. “They don’t match any hybrid I have on record, and those records go back at least three hundred years.” The healer explained, and Dream bit his lip. At this rate he’d have nothing to bring back to Techno but more questions and then they’d be back to square one, worrying about if Arielle was truly sick and waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Isn’t there something you can do? Some test, maybe?” Dream was grasping at straws then, desperate for some kind of sign. However, the healer suddenly seemed to have an idea, as she clicked her fingers before shooting off into the back of the shop. Dream watched her disappear with wide eyes before turning to Arielle, who was frowning back at him. He just shrugged at the child, who tilted her head and tried to copy the motion, but instead of moving both shoulders at once, she moved one at a time. Dream couldn’t have stopped the wide grin from breaking out on his face if he’d tried.

“Aha! Got it.” The healer came peeling back around the corner, causing both Dream and Arielle to jolt in unison. Clutched in the healer’s hands was a bottle of some strange clear liquid that Dream could almost feel the magic radiating from, and in her other was a sheet with large splotches of different colours. “Right, this potion was left to me by my grandmother. Apparently it can reveal the hybrid heritage of anyone exposed to it.” The healer explained, and Dream’s eyebrows rose.
‘That’s convenient.’
“I just need a lock of hair, and then when I drop it in here it’ll cycle slowly through the colours of her heritage.” Dream just nodded and decided to follow the healer’s directions with that one.

Five minutes later, both adults were sitting on the small medical bed, Arielle perched on Dream’s lap as they waited for the liquid in the bottle the healer was holding to change colour. Arielle’s lock of hair had just finished dissolving, and as the healer gave one last swirl of the bottle, the liquid abruptly began to darken. It rapidly seemed to thicken into a pure white, opaque broth, and the healer hummed in acceptance. “That’s her human heritage.” She explained, and Dream nodded along, captivated. The liquid changed again, becoming a vibrant pink with dark red swirls. That garnered a slight frown from the healer, but other than that she didn’t seem too surprised. “Well, that’s her piglin ancestry. It’s stronger than expected though, for a second gen’.” The woman mused, but before she could say more, the liquid grew dark. It grew so dark that within moments, the woman was holding a bottle of what Dream would have mistaken for black ink if he hadn’t known better, but for a split second he thought he’d spotted a slight sheen of purple and turquoise in the mix. Then, the healer gasped and dropped the bottle as if it had burned her.

Arielle yelped at the noise as the glass shattered on impact, clinging to Dream who’d reached for his axe on his back entirely through instinct. Meanwhile, the healer had thrown herself from the bed and was leaning heavily on a cabinet across the room, staring at Arielle as if she were the Devil incarnate. “You- you need to leave.” She whispered, and Dream stared at her with wide eyes.
“What-”
“Leave!” The healer suddenly shouted, causing Arielle to jump and shriek. The little girl was trembling in Dream’s arms and he had to take a deep breath to avoid blowing up in his anger. However, before he could do anything more, the healer darted forward and yanked on his arm, all but dragging him to the door. “Oi-!” Was all Dream managed to get out before he was shoved out the door, and the green-clad man stumbled a little in an effort to not trip over. Several villagers on the street glanced over at the commotion, some stopping to watch, but Dream was too busy figuring out the best way to protect Arielle if things got ugly.

“What the hell was that?” Dream demanded of the healer, who heaved in her doorway. Her face was dark, twisted in rage, and Dream wondered what on earth the black colour meant if it caused that kind of reaction. “Her kind is not welcome here! How dare you grace my doorstep with a cursed hybrid!” The healer screeched, all traces of the gentle and compassionate woman from before having evaporated. At that sentence, the very air seemed to freeze and dread dropped into Dream’s stomach. The name was not something he was familiar with, even if something in the buried memories in the back of his mind pinged with familiarity. But based on the horrified reactions from the other villagers, who immediately scurried back into their homes without even bothering to take their belongings in with them in their haste, it was not a good thing. “Now get that freak out of here!” The healer cried again, her body shaking in what could have been anger or fear, but Dream didn’t think much of it. No, he was too busy caring about the way Arielle had all but frozen at the word, a high, keening whine spilling from her lips. Dream didn’t even think it was a conscious noise, but something in his chest erupted into an icy rage when he heard it.

Crash! The healer squeaked and stumbled backwards as the wood of her door frame abruptly imploded. Wood chips flew everywhere, stabbing into the ground and blowing dust into the sky, but Dream didn’t care. Instead, he just heaved out a carefully controlled breath and slowly withdrew his fist from the ruined wall, having punched so quickly and with so much force that it had shattered the nearby window from the shockwave. The healer looked far more terrified now, and as Dream stalked forward, she dropped to the ground with a whimper. “Do not use that word ever again.” Dream growled, his voice deceptively calm and quiet. However, the shadow over his mask and the way the air seemed to have grow stagnant in moments said that he was anything but calm, and the healer began scrambling backwards on her hands to avoid him. It was as if the terror of death itself had dropped over her, and the woman couldn’t get anything out other than pathetic whimpers as Dream slowly advanced.

“Dee.” Arielle’s choked voice stopped the god in his tracks and within moments, all of his attention was switched to the child in his arms. She was still shaking, her heart fluttering a mile a minute against his chest, and when she raised her head to face him, her teary molten-gold eyes nearly sparked the supernova of his apoplectic rampage once again. “Wan’ Papa.” She managed to get out around her hiccups, and Dream felt himself untense slightly. Sighing out a ragged breath to try and keep his temper in check, Dream didn’t even bother to look at the cowering woman on the floor before he stepped away from the healer’s shop and took off down the now-deserted streets. The villagers peered at him through their windows, their eyes alight with terror, and the viciously primordial part of his brain hissed in sick glee at their fear.

“Don’t worry, we’re going to your Papa. We’re going home now, Ari, it’s okay.” Dream reassured, cooing softly at the child as she buried her head back in his shoulder and didn’t say another word. However, her shaking did subside slowly, and when Dream felt it was safe enough and they were far enough away from the disgrace of a village, he quickly sent off a message to Techno. He didn’t bother to ask about retribution against the village; if Techno couldn’t be bothered to deal with it, then Dream certainly would, but if the pinkett wanted to lead the charge, then Dream would be right there with him, bringing up the rear. And even while his human side baulked at the potential destruction, his wilder side crowed in glee, and he didn’t even bother to try and delude himself into thinking he wasn’t looking forward to the carnage their wrath would bring.

Chapter Text

Techno glanced down with a frown as his communicator pinged, just as he was leaving Pogtopia for the day. He was desperate to get back to the bunker to see Arielle again, especially after the clusterfuck that had been that mining trip. Tommy had nearly tripped into a lava pool not once but twice, leaving Techno diving after him and with singed ends to his hair. Niki and Tubbo had gotten lost at once point, leaving the rest of them floundering to find them in the caverns, and throughout it all, Wilbur kept up a scathing commentary in Techno's ear, almost like he was begging the pinkett to punch him in the face. The fact that they’d made it out of that cavern alive and in relatively one piece was still a marvel to Techno, and the whole experience had abruptly reminded him why he hated caving in a group to begin with.

Techno paused in the shade of a nearby oak tree, dodging the blazing setting sun as he fished his communicator from his pocket. He dropped his pickaxe from his shoulder and let it thump into the grass as he flicked through his messages to see the newest one.

Dream: You’ll need to find a new village.

Techno frowned at that, one eyebrow high.

Technoblade: What did you do?

Dream: Not me. The healer. I’ll explain when I get back.
Dream: All I’ll say is that the bitch called Ari a freak.

A red film descended over Techno’s vision and he ground his teeth together hard enough to hear them screech. His fingers dug so hard into the communicator’s metal casing that it creaked, and would have easily shattered the device, had it been the usual non-reinforced model. However, the chirp of a bird above him managed to snap him out of his rage, and he blinked as he realised Chat was howling in the back of his mind. He hadn’t even noticed them, so far into his rage.

KILL HER!
Blasphemy!
Treason!
MURDER HER!
Revenge!
Blood for the Blood God!

Techno winced and rubbed his temples, although didn’t even try to calm them down. He knew it would be useless, with how riled up they were. Then the full situation sunk in and Techno let his lips twist into a soundless snarl. He ripped his pickaxe off the floor and stalked off, and it was as if the forest itself parted for him. He knew whatever had happened had been truly severe, since it had even rattled Dream. Techno had gotten used to Dream’s long, winding messages that usually said very little for the amount of words used. Or the rapid fire pestering Dream had toned down with the more the men got to properly know each other. However, the clipped tone to the messages, and how direct they were, went against everything Techno had learnt about the whimsical god. Whatever had happened had truly blindsided Dream, and not in a good way, and Techno hoped to the gods that it didn’t mean the worst for Arielle.

Techno paced frantically as he waited for Dream and his daughter to return. He’d known that it would take them a while, since they’d need to be even more careful on their return to avoid the now unoccupied Pogtopians and any Manbergians wandering through the woods. However, that didn’t stop Techno cursing Dream for his slowness and wishing that they’d just hurry up and arrive, damnit!

“Techno!” Dream’s shout echoed down the hidden staircase just as the door slammed open, although significantly more gently than Techno had expected for the mood Dream had to have been in. Techno immediately darted into the main room and met Dream, who was clutching Arielle to him as if he’d fight the universe itself if it tried to take her away from him. His shadow was stretched along the walls and almost seemed to writhe, and the smiley mask on the god’s face had never looked so menacing or twisted before. Techno faltered slightly at the sight before regaining his stride and fearlessly reaching out to take Arielle. Dream immediately puffed up like an incensed cat, and Techno raised his eyebrows when he almost heard the god growl at him. However, Arielle woke up at that moment, drowsily turning to face her father. Her eyes were red and puffy, her whole posture defensive and scared, and Techno had to force down the cresting rage before it scared his daughter away.

The moment the little girl registered who was in front of her, she choked on a sob and threw her arms out towards him. Techno stepped in and swept her from Dream effortlessly, not commenting on how Dream took a moment to lower his arms, and didn’t even pretend to step out of Techno’s personal space. “Papa!” Arielle cried, voice thick, and she immediately buried her head in the man’s shoulder and breathed in deeply. The pinkett crooned softly at her, not even registering Dream’s presence as Techno rubbed her back and gently hugged her into his chest. Thankfully, the reassurance helped and soon the fresh tears that had sprung forth when she’d awoken, began to calm down. 

For several minutes, father and daughter communicated purely through various piglin noises, comforting each other the best they could, and Dream took the opportunity to calm the tempest raging through his veins. He knew behind his mask that his markings were glowing; the burning said that much clearly. It had been decades since his control over his temper slipped so badly, and his power took the opportunity to rise up like a hurricane. Calming it was like trying to tame a storm, but eventually Dream managed to shove his headspace into a position where he felt less likely to slaughter all those he’d taken offence to. 

A few moments passed in relative silence before Techno carefully began moving towards the family’s living quarters. Dream followed on his heels, unable to let himself drift too far from those mortals he’d claimed as his, one of which had been threatened so boldly in his own territory. However, the moment his thoughts registered and he realised that he’d actually claimed mortals for the first time in nearly a century, Dream stuttered briefly in his stride, eyes wide and unable to hold in a sharp intake of air. Techno glanced briefly behind at him, before continuing on to put the exhausted and sleepy Arielle to bed, now that she’d calmed down. 

However, Dream’s mind was running a mile a minute, his body frozen in the middle of the room. He’d not even truly claimed George or Sapnap, although he got pretty close with George before everything started to fall apart. Although the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He’d spent more time in the last half a year with Techno than he had with George and Sapnap in double that time, and the very thought of someone hurting them, Arielle to a greater extent, had his blood boiling. They were reactions he’d brushed off before, as if he just hadn’t been observant enough to realise the truth, and it seemed like his conscious mind was just now catching up to the truth his instincts had known for a while now.

Heaving out a shaky breath and not entirely sure how to deal with the information, Dream roughly shoved his mask to the side of his face so he could rub his aching eyes. The entire trip had been a blur of stress and trembling rage, held back only by the shaking toddler in his arms. He hadn’t relaxed at all for the last few days, starting with the discovery of Arielle’s rash, and the exhaustion was finally hitting him. He was not used to simply caring so much, and the emotional whiplash was draining him faster than he’d liked to admit.

“Dream.” Techno called quietly as he reentered the room, sans Arielle. The god met the warrior’s furious eyes, the only part of him that was highlighting his wrath. Dream was shaking slightly from the adrenaline still and he shook out his hands to try and stave it off. Groaning lightly, Dream collapsed onto one of the chests, resting his chin in his hand while Techno leaned against the wall. “What the hell happened?” Techno growled, voice a step away from a rumbling snarl, and Dream winced.
“Well, good news is she’s not sick.” Dream started, trying to ease Techno into it. “Apparently she’s presenting as a hybrid, although… what hybrid she is, is what caused the, er, incident.” Dream scowled at the memory, absently wishing that he’d had the time to rip that disgusting excuse for a healer’s throat out himself.

Techno frowned at the information, fiddling with his shirt’s cuffs as he thought. “Well it’s not a piglin trait…” He mused, but Dream shook his head.
“Yeah, I got that. The healer assumed she had some kind of avian, turtle or even skeleton in her, but none of that is true. I checked her heritage going back several generations when I first confirmed she was yours.” Dream all but spat out the woman’s profession, getting a narrow-eyed glance from Techno. “The only thing I can think of is that she does have some avian, but it was so far back I didn’t see it. But for it to be manifesting so powerfully now-” However, Techno cut Dream off with a snort.
“No. No way is Arielle an avian. I grew up with three avians, and the only thing similar is how high and shrill Arielle’s voice can get when she shrieks, and occasionally chirps. Apart from that though, her behaviour is all wrong for an avian.” Techno explained, and Dream’s brows furrowed. Sighing, the god eventually just took his mask off completely and dropped it to the chest next to him, in favour of rubbing his temples to stave off the oncoming headache.

“The only other thing- well, it’s related to the freak comment. Uh, she called Arielle a cursed hybrid.” Dream said, and immediately Techno went ramrod still. Dream eyed his reactions curiously, even as the warrior paled and glanced towards the door leading towards the sleeping Arielle. “What?! Wait- no that makes no sense…” Techno rambled, sounding so uncharacteristically uncertain that it caused Dream to sit up with alarm.
“Huh? What does that mean, anyway? It’s familiar, but-” Dream started. Techno hissed out a sharp breath, cutting the god off.
“Phil told me a bit about them once, although not a lot. All he said was that they were incredibly rare, and had a lot of stigma surrounding them. Apparently, because they’re made, not born, whatever that means.” Techno explained, and Dream frowned.

“But, Arielle was born. She wasn’t- she’s not a thing to be made? What the hell…” Dream murmured, and Techno looked just as disturbed.
“We’ll need to be very careful with her Dream.” Techno spoke again after a few moments, gaining the troubled god’s attention. “We don’t know what she is anymore; for all we know she could develop some kind of allergy to sun, or water. So until we know, she can’t bring her anywhere.” Techno stressed, red eyes gleaming with barely hidden concern and burning resolve. Dream nodded once, decisive, even as he tried to push down the worry.

“Right.” Dream hopped from the chest, his mind whirring as it came to the conclusion of what he needed to do. “You look through the books you have and I’ll head to my own collection. I’ll try and find something worthwhile.” Dream declared, but instead of agreeing, Techno scowled.
“Not yet. First, you tell me everything about what happened and what that healer did. And then, we plan out what we want to do about it.” Techno all but snarled, and Dream couldn’t have stopped the feral smirk, revealing far too many teeth, from twisting his lips. ‘Ah, revenge will be sweet.’ Dream mentally mused, and by the equally bloodthirsty expression falling across Techno’s face as Dream began his tale, the god knew his friend was following his thoughts perfectly.

Chapter Text

Techno coughed through the smoke billowing around him, but it did nothing to smother the self-satisfied, feral grin spread across his face. The screams had faded out not too long ago, although the crash of buildings collapsing to the ground was still an occasional background noise. In fact all of it, the crackling of flames and the smell of charred wood and flesh, added to the deluge of chaos and Techno was revelling in it. Chat was going absolutely wild in the back of his mind, helping to guide his hand and keep him grounded for once as he’d cut through the village like an assassin, killing anyone in his path and blowing out building foundations from beneath the villager’s feet. 

In contrast, Dream had whirled into the village like a violent, bloody hurricane, whipping up a deadly distraction and covering Techno’s sneaky and yet no less fatal subterfuge in the process. The village had stood no chance; with no warning, no plan of attack, and no understanding of who exactly they were going up against, their pitiful defences had folded to the pair’s first breaching attack like wet paper. Dream had shredded through their measly militia in seconds while Techno took out their panicking leaders, and within minutes the village was going up in flames. The screams had rang out shrilly after that.

And now, not even an hour into the chaos, all that remained around Techno was a smoking husk of a village, decimated by the forces of a man with the moniker of a god, as well as an actual god. 

“Well, that was fun.” Techno snorted to himself, grinning as Chat howled in jubilation in his mind.
“Hey Techno! Look what I found!” Dream’s sing-song croon echoed from behind him and the warrior spun around. The god was all but prowling towards him, something feline in his movements that, had Techno not been working with the god, would have set off all of his danger instincts at once. His mask was firmly over his face and splattered with specks of still-drying blood, and while his clothes were sooty and bloody, there were no rips or tears. Just like Techno, Dream had come out of the destruction virtually untouched.

However, the same could not be said of the person Dream was casually dragging behind him by their hair. They were trailing blood across the rocky landscape, whimpering pathetically, and Techno barely managed to recognise them past the soot and blood caking their face. Dream throwing them to the ground by Techno’s feet a moment later didn’t help matters, either. Techno eyed the cowering healer beneath him, casually ignoring the way she flinched away from Dream as he stalked around to Techno’s back. The woman was a sight for sore eyes, her clothes shredded and so dirty it was hard to tell the original colour from under the mess. One of her ankles was clearly broken, almost twisted all the way around, while her right elbow was so badly dislocated that the bone was pushing through her skin. She was an absolute mess, and yet the sight only brought a quiet and yet deadly sort of rage surging through Techno’s chest. 

“Ah yes. The healer.” Techno drawled and the woman whimpered. “Such a shame.” He tutted, almost mockingly sweet, and Techno felt Dream vibrating at his back. “Well, at least the fun doesn’t have to end just yet, then. What do you say, Dream?” Techno tilted his head back and Dream chuckled darkly.
“Good idea!” He chirped, voice deceptively happy in contrast to the death and destruction blanketing them. All the healer could do was keen shrilly as both men advanced, Dream swinging Nightmare leisurely by his side and Techno slowly unsheathing his famous blade from his hip.

Techno awoke with a silent suddenness that almost startled him. He was comfortably warm, although he could feel his blanket pooling at the bottom of the bed by his feet. Instead, there was a heavy weight on his chest and a tiny hand wrapped around his sleep shirt, and Techno blinked one crimson eye open only to get a faceful of pink curls. Sighing in bliss, Techno remained perfectly still as Arielle continued to snooze away happily on his chest, one of the rare times in the last week where she’d actually managed to get more than an hour or two of uninterrupted sleep. 

Ever since Dream and Arielle had returned from the village (which had been quickly and efficiently reduced to rubble a day later), the rash on her back had only gotten worse. It had spread across the entirety of her shoulder blades, down her spine to her tailbone, and even now curled around her shoulders to grip at her collarbones like a set of demented claws. It had popped up in other places of her body as well, mainly her elbows and knees, and only the day before Dream had spotted a few red spots blooming on her cheeks, just under her eyes and running along her cheekbones. The ones at her back had darkened considerably as well, almost as if they were bruising, but the raging heat emanating from them as well as the almost parchment-like consistency to the skin over them highlighted that something more was going on than simple discolouration. 

Raising his head carefully, Techno peered down at Arielle and scanned her for any changes overnight. Her face was a little more red than before, with a thin dark line beginning to poke out from the deep red of her cheekbones. Techno grimaced at that; it seemed like the rash there was progressing the same as her back, if not a little faster. Thankfully however, everything else seemed fine. Her butterfly-esque ears hadn’t changed much after the third day, seemingly having reached their final colour and stopped darkening. By that point the colour had come out fully, revealing a beautiful medley of pinks and purples intertwined with a deep turquoise base that looked almost black if not exposed to direct light. It spread all the way down to where her ears met her head, stopping three inches or so away from the corner of her eyes. However, the rash had spread to join it, and Techno had the worrying realisation that whatever was happening would probably join up with the new colouration anyway.

Sighing heavily, Techno began to shift himself up slowly, trying to keep Arielle asleep. She grumbled a little at his movement, but eventually Techno managed to gently slide her off of him and onto his bed. She curled up happily in the warm spot he’d left, and Techno covered her with his blanket with a small smile. He’d taken to keeping her with him when they slept in order to monitor her, since both he and Dream agreed that until they knew what type of hybrid she was becoming, it would be dangerous to leave her unsupervised for so long (the village annihilation didn’t count, since it was so effortless that it took all of two hours, most of which was spent travelling, and Arielle was asleep the entire time for it, anyway). Carefully creeping away from the bed, Techno slid from the room and into the smaller, more work-oriented section of his base. Straining his ears, Techno heard Dream’s faint mutterings from the room over and plodded towards there leisurely. Both of them had been hard at work researching, Dream carting over books from his own incredible stash so Techno could help him read them, since they’d gone through Techno’s comparatively small library quickly between the pair of them.

Techno ducked under the doorway into the library, squinting into the gloom of the candlelight. Dream was propped up with his back against the enchantment table, bent uncomfortably over his lap as he read. A stack of books towered to either side of him, while several more were scattered around and across the room. Techno raised an eyebrow at the sight, sighing heavily, and Dream’s attention snapped up to him as if he hadn’t noticed him before then. “Techno? Wha’s the time?” Dream slurred, sounding like a bad mixture of drunk and sleep deprived. His mask was gone, buried somewhere under the mountain of books, and he was blinking blearily up at Techno as if he could barely see him. 

“Dream, have you not slept?” The god just blinked uncomprehendingly at him for a few moments before heaving out such an exhausted sigh that Techno winced.
“Uh, I don’ think so?” Dream croaked back, rubbing a hand down his face and almost nodding off in the process. “Bu’s fine Tech’. Gods don’ need as much sleep.” Dream tried to speak again, and if Techno hadn’t known him so well by that point, then he wouldn’t have understood him at all. 
“Now that’s a load of bullshit if I’ve ever heard it. Everyone needs sleep, idiot.” Techno drawled, dragging himself into the room and dropping down opposite Dream and onto the cushion he’d vacated the night (day? Time had begun merging together for the both of them a while ago) before. In response, Dream just gave him a deadpan stare, made ever the more impactful by the utter soul-crushing exhaustion almost visibly dripping from him. “Leásere.” Dream muttered, not even trying to hide it from Techno, who snorted at him.
“Har har, Dream. And not true, anyway; fourteen hours is a bit of a difference compared to three days.” Dream just groaned and threw his head backwards, thankfully impacting against the enchantment table’s book and not the very hard and sharp obsidian of the table itself, or even worse, the diamonds embedded into the corners.

“Go to sleep, Dream. I’ll wake you in a few hours. Someone needs to stay with Arielle, anyway.” Techno heckled, and it highlighted Dream’s exhaustion when he didn’t even protest. He just stumbled to his feet (nearly braining himself on a tower of books in the process) and staggered out of the room. Techno had a moment to wonder whether or not the god would off himself before he actually reached the bed, but shrugged that off and instead picked up the book he’d gotten half way through before he’d gone to bed. It had been the first hopeful-seeming book out of the entire collection Dream had dumped in his home, and when Techno had first picked it up, it had been covered in cobwebs and what seemed to be a whole inch of dust. Dream had eyed it strangely, something almost cautionary in his gaze when Techno had first cleaned it off. However, the warrior had proceeded to crack it open anyway since at that time, Techno was still smarting from having to listen to Dream drone on and on about his last manhunt game (which had been several months prior, at that point) for several hours due to a mixture of the man’s boredom and restlessness. He thought that a little pettiness wouldn’t go amiss, after that.

Settling back against the cold concrete wall, Techno flipped open the book to the new chapter that he’d not gotten to before, and then almost immediately dropped the whole book. Because there, printed on the page were literally two big words in bold black ink reading ‘CURSED HYBRIDS.’
“...Well that’s just typical.” Techno muttered to himself to try and deny the rising anticipation. Even the background noise of Chat in his head, something that never went away but he’d gotten very adept at ignoring, quietened momentarily at the sight. “Finally time for answers.” Techno breathed, relieved and worried and anxious all at the same time as he began to read.

‘...these creatures, because yes they are less human and more beings, are not born in the same way as most hybrids, and therefore cannot be easily or accurately studied. Instead, it is more valid to say that they are made, and usually entirely against the will of the original organism the infection twists. Because it is without a doubt an infection, one that enters the host and warps them until their very DNA no longer reflects that of their mother or father, and rather mirrors the heritage of the monster that did the infecting.

Cursed hybrids, as they are therefore called, are a rare phenomenon when specific types of beasts attack pregnant women and infect them. The foetus, too small and weak to defend themselves, has its very DNA rewritten to match that of their new pseudo-parent, usually ejecting the genetic material of one of the parents in the process. The child, when it is born, will therefore exhibit features of the infecting creature as their hybrid, and less of their parents’ heritages.

Due to the wiping of one of the parent’s DNA from the child, there can be a large variation in traits inherited from either parent. For example, in the children we have managed to study over the last ten years (of which there were only two, and one of them did not survive their fifth winter), both lost most of their traits from their mother, only one retaining her eye colour and the other with no similarities at all. Curiously, both fathers were second generation hostile hybrids, one being a second generation skeleton and the other a spider, and neither child lost any features of either man. Instead, their hybrid inheritance from them seemed stronger than it should have been for second generation hybrids, as if most, if not all, of the humanity from either man was stripped from their children.

However, while not many studies have been conducted, there is well documented evidence from our ancestors claiming that these creatures, due to their unnatural genetic makeup, are biologically unstable. They are usually highly volatile, and sometimes even afflicted with several severe psychological and physiological issues that can crop up anytime during their lifetime. Therefore most of these creatures have a life expectancy of no more than ten years-’

Techno hurled the book across the room, where it smacked into the wall with a dull thud. Some unholy mix of rage and terror was surging through his veins, and Techno felt his nails dig into his palms so hard that the tangy scent of blood hit his nose a moment later. His whole body was trembling, Chat unnervingly silent in the back of his head as he felt like the world was crashing down around his ears.

‘-life expectancy of no more than ten years-’
‘-life expectancy-’
‘-ten years-’

Techno, not the first time in his life, dropped his head into his hands and couldn’t decide on whether to curse the gods for the hand they’d dealt him, or just cry.

Chapter Text

Sapnap whistled, impressed despite himself by the sheer level of destruction that had been carried out without anyone noticing (well, apart from the villagers themselves, of course). The only reason Sapnap and George had even realised something was wrong, was because Sam had called them up to complain about the offworlders raiding another village, since a whole settlement’s worth of people had just vanished from the admin’s sensors. However, the pair of them hadn’t even heard a whisper about a new village being found, which would never have remained secret, and so they’d set out to the coordinates Sam had sent in order to investigate.

“Don’t sound so happy about it, Sapnap. These poor people-!” George cut himself off with a high pitched yelp as a rock beneath his feet shifted and he went skidding down a pile of rubble, almost tripping over and face planting yet another gaggle of rocks and broken wood. Despite the man’s near-death experience, Sapnap burst out into laughter, getting a dry look of disdain from his friend as the goggle-wearing man brushed the soot and dirt ineffectively from his trousers. "I'm not happy about it, George. You gotta' admit though that it's pretty impressive." Sapnap argued, still grinning, but George just shot him a half-incredulous, half-disappointed look that had Sapnap frowning.
"What?" But George just shook his head.
"Come on, let's look for survivors." George marched off further into the ruined village and Sapnap winced. He doubted they'd be finding anyone, not with this level of utter annihilation. However, George soldiered on bravely and so Sapnap took up the rear, sharp orange eyes scanning the carnage. 

The entire village looked like a bomb had gone off beneath it, or maybe in the centre of it. All the homes were utterly destroyed, their foundations wrecked and smashed to pieces, and no piece of wood was left unburnt. The front gate - or where Sapnap assumed the front gate had been - had looked like a tornado had blown through it, making its way further into the town and destroying it from within. No patch of land in the entire settlement had remained untouched, and ash and dust blanketed the area like a particularly morbid blanket. Scowling at the thought, Sapnap paused and crouched down, picking up a shard of wood shrapnel. It still reeked of smoke and something Sapnap managed to identify as gunpowder, but it was so fragile that it crumbled to pieces in his hands at the lightest of pressure. ‘Well, that solves that.’  
“George!” Sapnap stood up and called, getting the other man’s attention from where he was trying (and failing) to dig through the wreckage of what looked like an apothecary, or at least had been. Even Sapnap could see the muted twinkle of smashed glass, and smell the rotting stench of spilled potions left in the open air, even from a decent way away.

“What?” The goggled-man shouted back, cursing and leaping to the side as a wooden beam abruptly crumbled and collapsed down on where he’d just been standing. Sapnap made an aborted lunge forwards as it fell, before sighing relief when George managed to avoid it in time. “Be careful, idiot.” He called, but George just shot him a deadpan look back before rolling his eyes. “Anyway, this place reeks of gunpowder. This wasn’t a natural destruction, like a storm. Someone did wreck this village purposefully, like Sam thought.” Sapnap explained as George retreated back to him and solid ground, evidently finding the rotting carnage a little too precarious to stand on any longer. 
“But we’ve never had bandits here. Dream takes care of them long before they get to our borders.” George sounded as confused as Sapnap felt, before a horrible, insidious thought crept into his mind. 
“What- what if it wasn’t bandits?” Sapnap breathed, almost feeling the pieces come together in his mind. George still looked confused, staring at him with wide brown eyes, and Sapnap grimaced.

“I mean, it could have been the Pogtopians I guess, but surely we would have noticed? Plus, even that’s a bit far for them. I know it’s not Schlatt, since we’ve been keeping an eye on-” George continued to ramble, almost spewing his thoughts aloud, and Sapnap winced.
“George-no. Just- think about it. We haven’t heard from Dream in a while, have we?” Sapnap prompted. George looked even more confused at that point, but only for a split second. Then, the realisation swept across his features before righteous anger followed it. “Sap- you think Dream did this? To his own people?!” George exclaimed, incredulous, and his voice bounced off of the wreckage surrounding them. 

However, Sapnap’s face had paled in the same moment, staring at something over George’s shoulder. “Seriously Sapnap, I know Dream hasn’t been around much lately, but he is trying to mitigate a civil war between his own people! I’d like to think we know him better than that-” However, Sapnap cut him off. The man just slapped him on the shoulder and forcibly turned him around. “What-” And then George saw it. Laying on the ground was the mutilated form of what Sapnap assumed had been a woman, but was far too disfigured to tell. She was missing an arm and both of her legs, while her torso looked like someone had taken two very sharp blades to it. However, it was the crude and yet stylised letter ‘O’ carved into her throat that had dread dropping into Sapnap’s stomach, even as George heaved to the side of him. 

“Oh gods-” George coughed, almost stumbling over if Sapnap hadn’t shot out an arm to catch him before he face planted. The other man couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight however, the symbol almost mocking him. He knew what a calling sign was, knew that it was something all gods did to mark their territory or their foes. And while Dream had never told Sapnap which god he was exactly, there’d been enough evidence to make a solid guess for a while now…
“Still think we know him, George?” Sapnap muttered, voice hoarse. George was utterly silent, eyes clenched shut, and as Sapnap summoned a tiny flame to burn the body to ashes in front of them, he began to doubt that they’d ever truly known Dream at all.

Dream couldn’t have stopped himself if he’d tried. He’d been pacing up and down the room for almost an hour now, trying to calm the storm under his skin, but the moment his gaze would catch on a flash of pink hair, or any part of Arielle’s fevered skin, it would just burst right back into being. The only reason he hadn’t left to try and destroy something to calm down, was the scarily vacant look on Techno's face. He was all but curled up against the corner of the wall on the bed, Arielle resting against him in the gap between his knees and his chest. He’d been in that position for almost an hour, having stumbled into the bedroom and woken Dream up from where the god had collapsed into the chair by Arielle’s bed. Techno had moved like he hadn’t heard Dream call him at all, which had immediately started the alarm bells ringing for the god. Instead, the warrior had just scooped up Arielle (who remained dead to the world), and pushed himself into the furthest corner of the bed, as if trying to shield the child from the world itself.

Dream, in response, had gone hunting for that accursed book that Techno had been reading. It had been one of the few from his collection that had come from before, and the majority of those texts would draw up such a feeling in nausea in the god that he hadn’t dared touch them in almost two hundred years. However, he’d known that they might have been useful, and so Dream had brought them along to their research sessions anyway, even against his better judgement. And of course, Techno had to go ahead and pick one up not three days into their reading, although by that point Dream had been so tired and so frazzled over not finding any answers that the man hadn’t said a word. He was regretting that rather sharply now.

Dream had found the book easily, even if it had looked like it had been thrown at a wall with considerable force. He’d found the page Techno had read even quicker, skimming through its contents like a man possessed. And then, what Techno must have seen registered, and Dream-

Well, the book had been reduced to ashes drifting from Dream’s hands before the god managed to pull himself back together.

And that led Dream to then, where he’d been fighting back to the urge to do something for the last hour while trying to figure out how to keep Arielle from dying like the book said she would. Because while Dream hated the sight of those books on principle, he also knew who’d written them. In the back of his mind, the memories of before still lingered, and Dream knew that he’d been there when the majority of them had been written, even if not in the same form he possessed nowadays. They were incredibly accurate and written by the acolytes of the Goddess of Knowledge herself, and so if they said something would happen, then they would happen. 

“I’m going to fix this, Techno.” Dream vowed, staring at Techno until the man’s dull eyes surfaced from below Arielle’s wild curls. Thankfully, the small child had somehow slept through both of her caretakers’ murderous and depressive rages, and was still happily swaddled in blankets against Techno’s chest. Dream mused that it was probably the only thing holding Techno together at that point. “I swear it.” Dream all but growled, sparks flashing in his eyes and lighting them up into an insidious, poisonous green. Techno grunted at him, sounding far more animal than human as he curled further around his daughter, and Dream supposed he should have expected that. The warrior had warned Dream, a little earlier into the god’s involvement in Arielle’s life, that he was a little more wild, a little more instinctual than most piglin hybrids, and so if something set him off bad enough, he could withdraw into those urges. Almost like a defence mechanism. And at that point, what Techno had described fit the man’s new behaviour to a T, although from how Techno had phrased it, Dream was surprised he was being allowed anywhere near the pair of them at all.

Sighing explosively, Dream swept up his mask (that he’d had to rescue from under a pile of books) and stalked from the room. He was almost bouncing with nervous energy, feeling his blood thrumming around his body like a flash flood. His mind was racing, and he winced as he realised he probably still needed the book that was now scattered into motes of dust across Techno’s library. “Where to get another one. Where to-” Dream muttered, fishing his communicator out of his pocket, dropping his mask onto a nearby chest, and throwing the small metal device into the air. He caught it deftly, repeating it a few times as he scowled in thought. Glancing down at the device and peering at his frightfully small number of names on his contact list, Dream’s eyes landed on one person he hadn’t even thought about in almost half a year, and he grinned darkly.

Ring, ring ring- “Hello?” Dream sighed in relief.
“Hey Cap. I need a favour.” There was a short silence on the other end before some kind of movement echoed over the speakers.
“What’s up? You sound exhausted.” The Captain’s voice came through, although it was wobbly as if the man was moving around. Dream couldn’t have held in the sardonic laugh if he tried, although he quickly muffled it into his free arm to avoid drawing Techno’s rather volatile attention from the other room. “Dream? You okay, kid?” Dream’s voice caught at that and he had to force himself not to instinctively snap back.
“Not sure you’re in a position to call me that.” Dream shakily responded, although he wasn’t quite able to keep the tightness from his voice.
“Yeah, well you’re younger than me now so deal with it.” Cap snarked, back and Dream snorted. 

There was a brief pause then and Dream shakily exhaled as he gathered his thoughts, almost overwhelmingly grateful for the older god-blessed giving him time to think. “Arielle is presenting as a cursed hybrid.” Dream eventually managed to spit out, ripping it off like a bandaid. He heard Cap’s sharp intake of breath on the other side as the sound of movement abruptly ceased, and Dream immediately winced. “...Oh gods. I’m so sorry-”
“Don’t.” Dream bit out, and the Captain immediately went silent.
“Okay- I, uh, what do you need?” The man asked instead, and Dream relaxed from where his hand had been almost threatening to destroy the communicator in his grip.
“I need any and all information on all the cursed hybrids you know of. I need their appearances, habits, weaknesses, everything.” Dream rattled off, and the Captain hummed in agreement.
“Got it. I’ll have this compiled and sent through to you in a few days. I-” He started, before a woman’s voice took over the speakers.
“Good luck, Dreamer.” She spoke, and Dream froze.
“...Thank you, Ianite.”

“...Well then. I’ll get this to you soon, although if my Lady is willing to help then it may be sooner. I’ll give you a heads up when it arrives in your spawn, although you’ll need to open your wards a little more to let it through. You’ve got your world on such a tight lockdown, I’m surprised anyone can get in at all.” The Captain chuckled, and Dream’s lips twisted into an ironic smile.
“Yeah, sure. Thanks Cap.”
“You’re welcome, Dream. And if you can’t- if she- you can always come to me for help, okay?” The man stumbled over his words a little, and Dream chuckled, feeling far more settled in that moment than he had all week.
“Thanks, and I will.”

Dream dropped the communicator onto the desk with a metallic clink before rubbing his face. All of a sudden, the stress and worry piled back on, but Dream didn’t let it drown him. ‘I’ll fix it. Arielle won’t die, on my soul I swear thus.’ Dream vowed, and this time the sealing bells of his promise sounded a little more hopeful than before.

Chapter Text

Fundy cursed as he ransacked his home, or well the single room he’d carved out for himself underneath the building that was supposed to be his “home”. Instead, the whole structure above him was more of a ruse than actually lived in, and Fundy spent nearly all of his time nowadays safely tucked into his secret bunker. It was something he’d first started working on only a few weeks into Schlatt’s reign, when he was still lost and confused and craving for any sign of familiarity. The hidden space reminded him of what L’Manberg had started as; a sign of freedom and acceptance, of family. Fundy clenched his fists and huffed out a shaky breath as he remembered it; standing with his father and uncle on the tall walls surrounding their safe haven. But now the walls were gone, the safety was a pipe dream, and all Fundy had left was a poor replica of the bunker that had defined L’Manberg’s freedom less than a year ago.

Fundy yanked another book from the bottom of his chest before glancing once at the cover. Hissing in annoyance, Fundy didn’t even bother to try and curb his more ‘animal’ instincts like he did around Schlatt, instead letting his tail lash and ears pin down to his head as he chucked the book carelessly over his shoulder. “Where is it, where is it-?!” Fundy murmured rapidly to himself, abandoning the now empty chest to dart towards another one. He’d been observing the tension rising around the main house like a thickening smog over the last month or two, which had first sparked with Quackity’s “disappearance”. Schlatt had made an official announcement about it, claiming that Quackity was taking a ‘leave of absence’, but everyone in Manburg with a brain knew exactly what had happened. Ever since, Fundy had felt like he’d been balancing on a knife edge as ‘random visits’ to people across Manberg were ramping up. Schlatt and his cronies would show up at some poor person’s house and conduct a ‘safety search’, and sometimes that person would never be seen again. Fundy had been lucky to avoid it for the last few weeks, but Schlatt’s cold, speculative looks were reaching even the fox now, and so he knew his time was up.

Pulling another book up from the bottom of the chest, Fundy peered at the cover and fought the urge to yip in triumph. Tucking his notebook into his satchel, Fundy raced into his second room and did his best to quickly put his armour on while making as little noise as possible. A sharp glance to his clock revealed it was around three in the morning, which was when he’d planned to leave anyway, and Fundy yanked on the leather strap over his shoulder to secure it before rescuing his pack from his teeth. Spitting a little, Fundy slipped from the room and hauled himself up the ladder, replacing the trapdoor and covering it with carpet to try and hide it for as long as possible. He was under no illusions that his secret rooms would remain hidden with someone like Punz on Schlatt’s payroll. However, if he could keep it hidden for as long as possible, then Fundy stood a better chance of escaping from Manburg and getting as far away as he could before Schlatt’s hounds were sent after him. 

Easing his front door open, Fundy peeked out into the abandoned streets, his ears almost painfully alert. Hearing nothing, Fundy held his breath as he snuck out of the door, closing it carefully behind him before slinking into the shadows. A quick twitch of a clawed hand, nothing more than an afterthought, had Fundy all but melting into the shadows, virtually invisible. It was apparently a skill he’d inherited from his mother, a woman Fundy had never met but had heard numerous stories about from his father. She’d used it all of the time to sneak up on his father and scare him half of death, and Fundy had always been so enamoured by the thought of his mother being as big of a prankster as him, that he’d worked hard to hone his skill to masterful levels of precision. And while using it to escape an oppressive regime wasn’t quite what Fundy thought he’d need to use it for, it sure was coming in handy. 

Fundy didn’t dare breathe as he slipped through the gates to the city and right past the two snoring guards. Like the majority of people in the town, they’d moved to Manburg from the local villages around that had been ransacked, and only the smallest majority of the town were offworlders like Fundy. However, even if they were the majority, they were also the weakest, and so Fundy knew that there would be no support from their side. There was a reason the entirety of Pogtopia was made up of only offworlders, after all. Thankfully, since they lacked the spark that offworlders had, Fundy went by virtually undetected, and the fox only let himself breath out a shaky sigh when he was several metres into the forest. Making his way through the thick vegetation, Fundy set his sights on where he knew Pogtopia was roughly located, his grip tightening on the straps of his satchel. ‘I’m free.’ He thought, slightly hysterical, but for some reason Fundy still couldn’t shake the terrible feeling burying its way in his gut.

Fundy panted as he hauled himself from the river, shaking himself roughly to try and rid himself of the cold water. However, with his armour weighing him down and his clothes sticking to his skin, there was little he could do. Even his wild russet curls were flat against his head, and Fundy flicked his ears irritably when a droplet of water ran down their insides. He’d assumed that, since the river wasn’t massively large, nor was the current very strong, that it would be simple to swim across it. He’d made the trip several times before across that stretch of river with no issues, but Fundy forgot that those times, he normally didn’t have his armour on. It had dragged him down into the depths of the river, and the fox had barely managed to retain his wits to drag himself out of the riverbed before he drowned. “I’m never doing that again.” Fundy muttered to himself, collapsing on his back with a groan.

“Fundy?” A hesitant voice called, and the man in question shot up as if he’d been electrocuted. Stumbling slightly, he spun around towards the voice, only to come face to face with a very perplexed looking Niki. “Niki?” Fundy echoed, and the woman smiled slightly at him.
“Hey Fundy. What are you doing out here?” The woman asked, glancing between him and the river. The fox blushed slightly before shuffling away from the new patch of mud on the river bank, ineffectively trying to brush it from his clothes. “Uh- I-” Fundy paused as a sneeze ripped through him, and immediately Niki seemed to melt.
“Aw- come on Fundy, let’s get you somewhere warmer before you freeze to death.” Niki joked morbidly, reaching forward and gently guiding him forward by an arm. She led him through the trees easily and towards a small hill next to the river. It didn’t look like much, and Fundy was about to ask what was going on, before the woman seemed to flick some kind of lever that, when he looked closer, was made from a tree. In the next moment, an entire section of dirt wall shunted to the side, spraying dust everywhere. In its place, a dark tunnel leading into the ground was revealed, and Fundy couldn’t help but gape. Niki smirked a little at his expression, something darker twisting her lips that Fundy had never seen from the woman before. However, he still followed her down, his sharp eyes easily adjusting to change in light.

It didn’t get better when the tunnel opened out, and Fundy paused when he took in the sight. The staircase opened into the top of a ravine before continuing down, winding through the walls until it reached the bottom. The ravine itself was cramped, full of wooden bridges and roughly carved ladders and staircases to reach various levels. There were several doors he could see in the walls, as well what looked like a rough mine entrance a little further into the gloom. The entire place was dusty and dim, and with the flickering candlelight it looked like some kind of tomb. “How do the humans see in here?” He muttered to himself as he carefully followed Niki down, and the woman huffed out an amused laugh.
“I think we all just got used to it.” She answered before she glanced back at Fundy with a wry smile. “Plus, it’s not like there are many of us. Most of Pogtopia are hybrids, so you’ll fit right in.” Niki casually remarked, almost causing Fundy to trip and topple into her.
“I- what?” He stammered, all but falling down the last few steps, and Niki eyed him with amusement and badly concealed concern.
“Well, I can’t imagine you’d be here for any other reason-” Niki started, before a loud shout behind her caught them both off guard.
“Niki- What is he doing here?!” Tommy roared, stalking forward to push past Niki. He quickly pulled the smaller woman behind him, and Fundy stumbled backwards as his ears pinned. The boy - his uncle- was scowling at him, a gleaming sword at his hip, and Fundy suddenly wondered if it would have been better to take his chances with Schlatt.

Niki scowled and yanked Tommy backwards, catching the blonde so off guard that he froze for a moment. “Tommy, stop it. I invited Fundy here.” Niki explained, but Tommy didn’t relax.
“Why? He’s an enemy!” Tommy spat feverently, and Fundy winced. He shrunk into himself then as he realised Tommy’s shouting had drawn the rest of Pogtopia’s attention, and several familiar faces were emerging behind them. Tubbo, (whom Fundy sighed in relief to find alive after that disaster of a festival) was eyeing him speculatively but lacking the anger Fundy had expected from him. Quackity was giving him a knowing look from the side, and Fundy let himself hope that he’d get some support from that direction. The fox had been banking on the fact that Quackity had escaped Schlatt; there was no way the ram would have passed up the opportunity to make an example of the man if he’d caught him, but similarly he would never have admitted to having lost him either. Plus, Quackity understood the absolute hell that was working under Schlatt. Much to Fundy’s relief, his biggest worry of Technoblade didn’t seem to be in attendance; he’d never spent much, if any time with his oldest uncle, but had heard enough cold, scathing stories from his father to be wary of him on principle.

“Fundy? What’s a traitor doing here?” The man himself then emerged, pushing through his ragtag group and glaring at his son. The man looked terrible, with dark bags under his eyes and skin pale and sallow, even in the dim lighting of the ravine. His brown jacket looked like it was made more from patchwork than the original leather, and his hair had grown long enough to reach his shoulders in frizzy curls. The man sneered at him and Fundy immediately wilted, some part of him whining in heartbreak at the rejection. However, he knew he couldn’t let himself just fall apart like that, and took a deep breath to steel himself. “I’ve defected from Manburg- in fact no, I was never with them to begin with.” Fundy announced, and the ravine fell silent. Everyone was watching him, their eyes searing into him, and the only friendly faces he could see was Niki and maybe Tubbo and Quackity. The others looked like they'd rather put him six feet under. 

“Oh really?” Wilbur drawled, raising an eyebrow, and Fundy rushed to grab his satchel. Thankfully, he’d managed to obtain one of those water-proof ones that was sealed by magic, so all of his belongings and, most importantly, his notebook were still safe and dry inside, despite his dip in the river earlier. “I- here.” Fundy handed the book to Wilbur with shaking hands, and silence fell for several moments as Wilbur flipped through it. The fox saw his father’s eyebrows rise higher and higher as he read, before the man seemed to not quite soften, but he no longer looked so hostile. His guard was still up, and Fundy’s ears flicked as he heard the man’s quiet and unintelligible mutters, but they didn’t seem angry. “Well then.” Wilbur suddenly announced, snapping the book closed and causing everyone to jump. Fundy glanced towards Tommy, frowning when he realised the boy was staying decently far away from Wilbur- in fact, now that he noticed it, everyone was. There were several distinct groups, with Niki, Tubbo and Tommy making one, Wilbur on his own in the middle, and Quackity concealed in the shadows of the wall to the back. The division was startling, and Fundy couldn’t help the flash of unease he felt at seeing it. 

“You’ve got one chance, Fundy. Got it?” Wilbur announced, jabbing the book at him before lobbing it towards him. Fundy scrambled to catch it before it dropped to the ground, and eyed Wilbur nervously as he stalked off. He knew his father was struggling, and had been changing ever since the war, but… ‘This is my dad? What happened?’ Fundy asked himself, barely even noticing when the others slowly trickled away and back into the depths of the ravine. Well, all except one. “You okay, man?” Quackity asked, approaching him slowly. Fundy smiled in exhaustion at the man, but by the way Quackity’s expression twisted a little, the fox guessed it hadn’t been all that convincing. “Come on.” Quackity started, and Fundy let the older man lead him further into the ravine. “You can bunk with me for now, I managed to claim one of the last free rooms…” Fundy let Quackity prattle on, knowing that it was comforting the man as much as it was him, and instead hoped beyond hope that he’d made the right decision.

Chapter Text

Dream landed lightly on the ground inside his shamble of a spawn area, making nary a whisper of noise. Ducking under a few trees, the god silently made his way towards the actual spawn point, which was a bright beacon on his senses. The magic there would always call to him, being the creator of this world, but it meant that so close, it was rather distracting. Leaning against a nearby tree, the god squinted into the bright light as he waited for the Captain to follow through. It had been a harrowing few days for the man, with Techno all but out of commission and Arielle clearly confused by the sudden clinginess of her father. The little girl had woken up the day after their disastrous discovery, still wrapped in Techno’s arms and thankfully not seeming too bothered by her strange rashes. On the other hand, her father had all but shut down, refusing to let go of the girl, and the one time Dream had tried to remove Arielle from him in order to bathe her, he’d nearly gotten his head taken off for the trouble. After that, he didn't dare to try again. Thankfully for him, Arielle was never one to turn down affection from those she loved, and so it had only taken a little haggling from Dream to ensure the little girl was comfortable staying where she was. That had been three days ago, and only that morning Dream had noticed the light returning to Techno’s eyes as his instincts finally began letting him go. It was why the god was only just feeling comfortable enough to leave the warrior alone with his daughter in order to collect the Captain’s promised books and literature. 

Huffing out an exhausted breath, Dream leaned more heavily against the tree as his mind whirled. He already had Pogtopia on his back wanting more resources, plus he’d needed to fend off Wilbur’s heckling for Techno since the piglin hybrid was in no shape to deal with his borderline-insane brother. The god hadn’t had much of a chance to see what was going on inside Manberg recently, so he had no clue what Schlatt was planning next, and the uncertainty of the situation wasn’t helping his mounting stress levels- 

Thump.

Dream jumped a foot in the air as something impacted the ground next to the spawn point. Taking a shuddering breath to try and calm his racing heart, Dream wandered over to the package and surveyed it. It was wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string, but the familiar swirl of gold twisted into an elaborate T lowered Dream’s hackles. Shaking his head in amusement, Dream leaned forward and plucked the package from the ground. “Oh shit-” Dream cursed as he staggered, not at all prepared for the hefty weight of the parcel. “What did you send me, Cap; a whole library?” Dream muttered as he readjusted his grip. A quick flick of his fingers locked the spawn point down tightly once more, the glow dimming from a supernova to a soft ember, and only then did Dream begin moving away from it. “Time to do more reading. My favourite.” Dream snarked under his breath as he stumbled out of spawn.

An hour later, Dream gratefully dropped the parcel in the entrance of Techno’s base, where it fell to the floor with a soft thud. Huffing in relief, Dream wrung out his now completely numb arms as he slipped his mask off of his face. After spending so long in the little underground base, it had reached the point where the mask was more suffocating than a comfort whenever he was there, and Dream didn’t even have the mental energy to be surprised by that realisation. “Dee!” A shrill, happy cry came from the doorway and Dream’s head jerked up. Techno, for the first time in almost a week, stood in the doorway looking more or less present. However, his face was drawn with ever-perpetual worry and a sort of weighing exhaustion that Dream knew all too well. Arielle, in comparison, happily sat on the man’s hip, bright golden eyes clear and a beautiful grin on her face as she stared at the god. “Dee!” She cried again, clapping, and two small, tired and yet genuine smiles slipped onto Dream and Techno’s faces at the same time.
“Hey Ari! How are you doing?” Dream chirped, although by the glance he got from Techno, he assumed it wasn’t as energetic as it usually was. However, what neither man was expecting was for the little two year old to pick up on it as well. 

Arielle paused for a second, her eyes trained on Dream’s face as a little frown formed on her lips. “Dee? Sleep?” She asked, tilting her head, and the god and Techno shared a startled glance. 
“I’m okay, Ari. I’ll sleep later-” But the little girl wasn’t having any of it.
“Sleep!” She demanded with a brandished finger, an angry scowl on her face that looked more like a pout. Silence reigned for a few moments before Techno tried and failed to hide an amused snort, wandering over to place Arielle in Dream’s arms. The god froze at the action, watching Techno carefully, but the piglin hybrid just raised an amused eyebrow. “Well go on then, Dream. It’s past your bedtime.” Techno teased, trying to keep a straight face as he wandered away into the base’s enchanting and library room. However, the loud peal of laughter that echoed from the room a moment later said he’d failed rather spectacularly. 

“Really, Ari?” Dream peered down at the girl in his arms, but all she did was wrap her arms as far as they’d go around his neck before clinging to him as if he’d disappear if she didn’t. However, it was the tiny yawn she gave out as her head nestled into his neck that finally forced Dream’s hand. Sighing, Dream wandered into the bedroom and took a seat in the comfy plush chair next to the singular bed in the room. Arielle did have a small bed across the room, in the furthermost corner away from the door, but Dream could count the times she’d used it on one hand over the last several months. Most of the time she slept better pressed up against her father anyway, and after her mysterious rash had begun to form, Techno had been loath to let the girl sleep anywhere but with him, where he could keep a close eye on her.

Settling into the chair, which had seen several upgrades after it had become a frequent napping spot for both men, Dream made sure to settle Arielle comfortably against his chest. She curled up there not unlike a kitten, her face pressed against his shoulder, and Dream got a great view of the darkening rash on the back of her neck. He hadn’t been able to see much when Techno was guarding her so viciously, but now it was clear it wasn’t a normal rash at all. The middle had darkened to the point where Dream wasn’t even sure if it was skin anymore, almost looking purple in the flickering candlelight, and the edges still looked raw. However, they were a lighter pink than before, as if it were healing, and Dream gently traced the skin there. It was blessedly cooler than before, much to her relief, and when he tentatively pressed against the darkest spots, they felt almost smooth with little ridges, like fish scales. However, the pressure was evidently unwelcome by Arielle, as she shivered and threw her head back with a whine. Dream quickly jerked his head to the side to avoid being headbutted, blinking as Arielle curled into a tighter ball with a grumble. “Sleep.” She muttered again, the word muffled by Dream’s hoodie, and the god let his head drop backwards in defeat.
“Okay, okay, I’m sleeping.” Dream muttered, and as if that was the signal, the god found his eyes fluttering. Making sure he had a good grip on Arielle so she wouldn’t slip off his lap, Dream gave in to the siren call of sleep, never noticing how Arielle’s dark rash glittered magically in hues of teal and blue at the same time.

Techno flipped open the first book of Dream’s strange collection as he leaned up against the bookshelf he’d just finished tidying everything away to. He’d peeked in on Arielle and Dream just before retreating to the library, fighting down the lingering urge to snatch Arielle back and hide away for the rest of time; he knew if he remained in the room, then he wouldn’t have been able to help himself. Giving Arielle to Dream had been a test of his willpower in the first place, a test he had nearly failed. Thankfully, compared to several days before, the impulse was all but gone, but Techno knew that it could flare back up at any moment, and he wasn’t going to give it a chance. His instincts had been so overpowering and his mental strength so battered from the information he didn’t even dare think of, even days later, that his piglin side had taken him over embarrassingly quickly. It hadn’t helped that Chat had gone eerily silent after reading the page for several seconds before erupting in his mind with the force of a tropical storm, tearing through his defences like tissue paper. They were still grumbling in his head like a pack of angry bees, but it was laced with a strange sheepishness that Techno had never felt from them before. It was almost as if they hadn’t meant to set him off into an instinct-driven spiral, and were sorry for it. ‘So pigs can fly, apparently.’ Techno mentally snorted to himself with mocking humour as he went back to scanning the chapter list of the book.

‘Myths of The Cursed Ones… Dangers of Cursed Hybrids… All About the Different Cursed Hybrids-’ Techno paused at that particular chapter and quickly flicked to the relevant pages. Scanning the pages like a starving man, Techno frowned as he failed to see any hybrids that matched Arielle’s description at all. ‘Probably not a Wither Skeleton… definitely no ‘touch of death’ or whatever that means… Guardian maybe? But Arielle isn’t developing gills, just a rash…’ Techno scowled as each and every page flipped by without answering his questions. It didn’t help that nearly all of the language was talking about the hybrids as ‘creatures’ or ‘demons’, and the more derogatory language Techno read, the more the stone of dread sank in his stomach. Flipping to the end of the section, Techno huffed and turned the final page. However, as he began to read, his hopes dwindling, his questions were finally answered.

‘-Phantom Hybrids are the believed rarest of the cursed hybrids, and the most elusive. Little to no information is known of them, and they are considered non-existent due to the mythical nature of their supposed ‘donor’ creature, the Phantom. All this is known from older literature however, is that development supposedly begins with a bright red rash covering the shoulders, trailing down the spine, and occasionally across the cheeks and joints. The ears darken and twist into a mockery of phantom wings, the skin turning to delicate leather with a butterfly-esque pattern, although there is no knowledge of whether this affects the hearing. Eyes grow brighter, almost luminescent in darkness, and eventually the rash darkens into patches of smooth and hard material not unlike the supposed body of Phantoms themselves. It is not known whether they develop wings like Phantoms or not, but hybrids apparently possess the devilish shriek of their parent creature. As Phantoms are believed to have gone extinct on most worlds almost four hundred years ago, if they’d existed at all, Phantom Hybrids were believed to have followed them, although no record of the hybrids ever existing in the first place has been found-’

Techno put the book down as the text devolved into less useful information, his mind whirling as the dots connected. Arielle’s ears which the book almost perfectly described, her screams that could reach decibels no normal child could attain, and finally her rash? It made total, horrible, terrifying sense. Scanning the page again, Techno’s eyes widened when they landed on the end of the passage (-not known whether they develop wings-), and he groaned, his head tapping against the wood of the bookshelves with a thunk. “I’m going to have to contact Phil at some point…” Techno grumbled, but only to distract himself from the real problem. Sure they now knew what Arielle was, but Techno had never even heard of a Phantom, and by the fact that Dream clearly had as much of a clue as to what was going on with Arielle than Techno did, the pinkett doubted the god had either. And if the book was telling the truth and they had supposedly gone extinct over four hundred years ago, or had even never existed in the first place…

“How does Arielle even exist?” Techno muttered to himself, but as he expected, the silence of his library gave him no answers.

Schlatt stared at the sun setting over his town, his conquest, and grinned nastily. His fingers drummed against his polished dark oak desk, and when Schlatt glanced over, his eyes lit up when they landed on the brand new book in his possession. It was a deceptively simple thing, with a ragged leather-bound cover and yellowed parchment pages. It looked like it belonged in some kind of museum, or was maybe a well-loved journal from a man who lived hundreds of years ago. However, the strange symbol on the front that vaguely resembled an illager totem gave a very different, more sinister impression. The book almost seemed to radiate ill intent, whispering promises as sweet as sugar dipped in cyanide, but Schlatt never noticed; he wouldn’t as he’d never thought to learn about the magical arts, too proud of his ‘normal’ skills to bother trying. Instead, Schlatt just chuckled as he stroked the book almost lovingly, his eyes appearing dazed as the dying light of the evening casting red shadows across his face. “Soon…” He murmured, and for a split second, it almost looked like his eyes flashed a solid, insidious black.

A crow shivered and cried out, its head swinging towards the horizon. “What’s up, mate?” A cheerful man’s voice called, and the crow spun around with a chirp to see its master. His blonde hair was, for once, not covered with his hat, although the white and green accessory was tucked atop a chest a little ways away. His green shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, arms caked in dust from his building exploits, while his trousers looked more soot grey than black. His black wings fluttered a little in the breeze, glittering almost purple, and his grey eyes were concerned as they scanned the crow’s form. The bird screeched again, flapping its wings wildly, and the man jolted suddenly. His eyes widened dramatically as he spun towards the horizon with a frown, his body as tense as a bowstring. “That’s odd…” He muttered, stormy eyes darkening with worry, and the crow’s answering screech agreed with him.

Chapter Text

“Ari, please come down!” Dream called quietly, glancing around him quickly to check if anyone was coming up behind them. Completely oblivious to the man’s very real fear of being spotted, Arielle giggled as she perched on a branch half way up a spruce tree, peering across the forest with an innocent expression of breathless awe on her face. The scene would have been sweet, had Arielle not been only just over two years old, and had Dream actually known how the little girl had managed to scale such a huge tree on her own in the first place. The god had taken Arielle out for the day, since Techno was distracting Pogtopia, but it hadn’t gone at all like he’d planned. Since it had been well over three months since they’d discovered Arielle’s true heritage, her rash had all but cleared up but her confinement to the bunker had not. It left a hyper two year old in its wake, full of energy and yet unable to release it, and she’d been slowly driving both Dream and Techno mad. ‘How Techno dealt with it 24/7, I will never know.’ Dream thought to himself with a snort. The little girl had gotten into all kinds of trouble, such as raiding Techno’s chests when his back was turned, hiding from them both for hours and terrifying them into thinking she’d gotten out, and one memorable occasion where Techno had apparently gotten up in the middle of the night to find her methodically stripping his bookshelves of books. It seemed like anything that wasn’t locked shut or nailed down was fair game, and both men had been at their wits end.

However, neither of them had wanted to take Arielle outside the bunker after the revelations they’d been slammed with. The clicking clock hanging over Arielle’s head like an executioner’s axe was constantly in the back of their mind, and suddenly anything that Arielle did began to worry them. Things such as toppling off the bed (which was very low to the ground to begin with) or jumping between the chests as if they were an obstacle course suddenly had both men up in arms when before they’d have probably just laughed right along with Arielle. As a result, the little girl hadn’t just been restless, but also grumpy, and it seemed like any sleep schedule Arielle had possessed before then had flown right out the window. And so, Dream had hurried to find a solution.

“And this will, what? Test if going outside is okay for her?” Techno asked, his voice and raised eyebrow all but dripping with scepticism. Dream quickly popped the cork of the potion vial he was cradling as if it was made of pure netherite, holding it up to eyelevel to peer into the sunshine-yellow liquid. “Yep! I brewed it myself.” Dream explained, wandering into the bedroom and just missing Techno muttering “-that’s what I’m worried about-” in the background.
“Ari!” Dream called, and not even a moment later there was an excited two year old bouncing around his feet.
“Dee! Dee!” She called, seemingly not able to stand still, and Dream carefully grabbed her arm to pull her to a stop.
“Woah- easy Ari. I need you to stand very still for me, okay?” The little girl thankfully settled down, golden eyes locked on the equally bright liquid in the bottle in Dream’s hand, but she still vibrated as if the sheer amount of energy she possessed couldn’t be contained. 

Kneeling down, Dream carefully tipped a tiny bit of the liquid onto his hand, grinning in relief when it melted into a lovely shade of forest-green. Arielle watched with a curious tilt to her head that reminded Dream of various birds, or even cats, but thankfully she didn’t flinch away when Dream grasped her hand. “Okay, stay there for me, Ari.” Dream murmured, but the moment he tried to bring the potion anywhere near her hand, the girl wrenched herself away with a cry. It was as if she only just realised what was happening, and both men jumped to attention when she cowered from them. “Ari?!” Dream called, reaching for her, but she shied away again. However, that was when he realised that it wasn’t him she was afraid of, but the bottle. “It won’t hurt you, Arielle.” Techno comforted, evidently having noticed the same thing, but Arielle just frantically shook her head.
“No!” She cried, golden eyes wide with fear. “‘M not a mons’er!” She shouted, tears gathering in her eyes, and Dream froze. He heard a barely audible growl echo from Techno as well, almost sounding too low for him to have produced, but Arielle heard it if her flinch was anything to go by.

Techno strode forward in the next moment, ignoring how Arielle tried to scramble away and instead scooping the child into his arms. “You’re not a monster, Arielle.” He stated, confidence and seriousness dripping from his tone. It was so steadfast that it stopped Arielle in her tracks from where she’d been trying to squirm away, and instead the little girl turned imploring eyes on her father. “But- they both said.” She mumbled, and Dream shared an alarmed look with the warrior. “Who said, Ari?” He asked gently, and Arielle’s bottom lip quivered as she glanced at him. “The ‘wadies.” Arielle answered, and both men were so shocked that they didn’t even bother to try and fix her pronunciation. They only remembered one woman calling Arielle that, and the only other lady she’d met had been- Dream’s face darkened just as he watched Techno turn away from Arielle to hide the vicious snarl on his face. ‘Maybe I sent that bitch away too early.’ Dream sneered in his mind.

“They were wrong, Ari. I swear they were wrong.” Dream implored as Arielle sniffed and hid her face in her father’s shoulder.
“...Pwomise?” She uttered, although only Techno was close enough to actually understand what she said.
“I promise.” He answered, clutching his daughter tight as Dream slowly approached with the bottle.
“Can I try this now, Ari? After this, you’ll be able to go outside again!” Dream forced some enthusiasm into his voice, compartmentalising his emotions as easily as breathing, and he was rewarded with Arielle’s face flashing to him. 
“Really?!” Her face lit up, eyes wide with excitement, and Dream grinned back at her as Techno visibly relaxed. 
“Yep! You-” He started, but was interrupted with Arielle shoving her hand in her face. Techno chuckled as the god had to dodge to avoid being punched in the chin by an over-excited two year old, but he obligingly grasped her wrist and turned it over. “Okay, here we go!” Dream exclaimed as he gently tipped the bottle, letting a single drop of the liquid splash onto the skin of Arielle’s palm. He saw Techno peer over the top of Arielle’s head to watch, and all three of them waited with baited breath to see what would change. Nothing moved for a single moment before the liquid abruptly bled such a deep orange-red that it caused Dream to scowl. He rubbed it off her skin a moment later, leaving a very confused girl staring back at him. He smiled at her reassuringly, and Arielle mirrored the expression with such a bright grin that it almost threatened to blind him. 

“So what was that, anyway?” Techno asked, eyes narrowed, and Dream sighed as he placed the bottle down on a nearby chest.
“That was a test to see if Arielle was in danger from sunlight.” Dream started, but by the pale expression on Techno’s face, he understood the result before the god even had to explain it. “It’s usually used for hybrids such as zombies and skeletons, to see if they took after their human side or their mob side. Unfortunately for Ari, whatever Phantoms are, they must have been hurt by sunlight, and Ari inherited that.” Techno’s scowl grew more pronounced at that, but Dream waved him off before the piglin hybrid could get too worried. “Thankfully it was more of an orange-red than a blood-red, so it will probably manifest as more of an allergic reaction compared to the instant spontaneous combustion of regular mobs. And we’ll probably only need to worry about the hybrid parts of her, such as her ears and scales.” Techno relaxed a little at that, but the worry was clearly not gone if the glance he shot at his daughter was anything to go by.
“And the solution?” Techno asked, tone slightly growly, and Dream frowned thoughtfully. 
“I’d suggest a helmet of some kind, but that might not work with her ears, not to mention her age… maybe a cloak?” Dream suggested, shrugging when he spotted Techno’s sceptical expression. “What? Do you have a better idea?” Dream snarked, his concern slipping from his control, and Techno expectedly grimaced.

And that’s how Dream found himself standing at the base of the spruce tree, hoping and praying that the light blue, cotton cloak draped across Arielle’s shoulders with its hood drawn up, wouldn’t suddenly blow away from the child and leave her to the mercy of the summer sun. “Arielle, please come down!” Dream asked, and suddenly the little girl’s attention snapped to him for the first time since he’d spotted her atop the branches. Only then did Dream notice that he’d used her full name for the first time in at least a year, and mentally stored that little bit of crucial information in the back of his mind. Arielle pouted down at him for a few moments before dramatically rolling her eyes in the exaggerated way only a toddler could pull off, before finally beginning the climb back down. It didn’t take her long to get down, but the whole climb had Dream digging his nails into his palms in nerves. The little girl was absolutely fearless about heights, her attitude cavalier towards swinging between branches and jumping down the trunk of the tree, and by the time she got low enough to jump into his arms, the god’s patience was fraying. It didn’t help that Dream was relatively sure that children her age should not be coordinated enough to climb a seven metre tall spruce tree, and the concern of whatever luck that was keeping her safe running out was driving him spare.

“Dee! Was really high!” Arielle chirped in his ear, giggling merrily and completely unconcerned over the fact that she’d nearly given Dream a heart attack. Breathing deeply before letting it out in a whoosh of air, Dream secured Arielle in his arms and quickly began heading back to where they’d camped for the day out. It was the same clearing they’d discovered over three months ago, only a day before that village had ceased to exist. Neither man had been back to the ruined settlement since, but Dream had promised to bring Arielle back to the clearing she’d favoured and so he’d done just that. However, as spring had warmed into summer, the blazing sun was constantly on Dream’s mind, and so while Arielle seemed to be having the time of her life, the relaxed outing the god had been hoping for had instead been more of a stressful nightmare. 

“I saw, Ari. I saw.” Dream muttered, although his tone mustn’t have been excited enough for the toddler. She swung around to face him, brows furrowed, and Dream winced when he spotted the growing annoyance on her face. “You don’ like high up?” Arielle asked, and although her vocabulary was growing, a lot of understanding her was largely up to interpretation. However, Dream got the jist and just smiled at her, trying to push his concern down. “It’s just dangerous, Ari. Next time, please ask me before you go climbing any trees?” Dream teased, and although Arielle giggled at him, she did nod.
“Kay!” She announced, and Dream put her down with a grunt once they entered the clearing. She made a beeline towards the bag Dream had brought with them, sticking her nose in the air just like Dream had spotted Techno doing whenever it was Dream’s turn to cook for the three of them, and the god grinned to himself at the sight. Many a time he’d ribbed Techno over that, and while the pair of them would spit insults barbed as jokes at each other, Dream relished in the opportunity to be secure for once. 

The god rarely went home any more, preferring to stay near Arielle after her diagnosis of a kind, and he could admit to himself that having the comfort of a very capable warrior at his back constantly didn’t exactly hurt either. He never realised how tense he was back at his own home until he returned to fix the few issues that had cropped up that he couldn’t deal with from Techno’s bunker. He’d also never noticed how lonely he’d been either, although that had been a hard pill to swallow. He still remembered when he’d created the world, nurturing it and pouring himself into it until it had finally been ready. He’d spent months fooling around with George and Sapnap, just enjoying their company together in their own little sacred place, before he’d finally opened it up to others. And to begin with, everything had been fine. Everyone had got along, apart from a few skirmishes here and there, and Dream had been happy. But looking back, Dream quickly realised that actually, it hadn’t all been fine. As soon as Bad and Sam and all of Sapnap and George’s other friends had trickled in, Dream had almost been left on the sidelines. He’d gotten used to spending weeks alone in his home, fixing issues as they cropped up and only talking to his friends over his communicator. They visited in the beginning, but even that had dwindled, and eventually Dream had been forced to find them if he wanted to spend time with them. But with Techno, that was never a problem. If he even spent half a day at home, he’d eventually get a call or text from Techno inviting him around, although most of the time it was wrapped in a demand for his ‘services’ (as if Dream saw looking after Arielle as a job anymore-), and so the god never had time to be lonely. If he wasn’t with Arielle, he was with Techno, fighting over how to cook, or joking over the state of the warrior’s god awful library organisation, or just joking around in general. It was a breath of fresh air that Dream hadn’t realising he’d been missing until he started experiencing it again.

“Dee!” Arielle shrieked, and Dream jumped as he was ripped from his thoughts. The little girl was pouting at him from across the field, a grumpy scowl on her face that looked more like an adorable pout, and her arms were crossed over her chest in an exact imitation of her father’s ‘I’m disappointed in you’ stare. “Food!” She cried again, voice ripping across the field far too easily for such a young child. Dream winced as it pierced his ears, waving frantically at her before she could do whatever she was doing to her voice again and potentially blow out his eardrums. “Okay, okay! I’m coming!” He shouted. However, before he could even take one step before her, his communicator began blaring in his pocket and he cursed. Fumbling to get it out, Dream’s face dropped when he read the name on the screen. ‘What the hell does he want?’

Dream quickly held up the communicator to his ear and lowered his voice, hoping that luck was on his side and Arielle stayed quiet. “Schlatt.” Dream started, voice carefully blank.
“Hello Dream.” The so-called ‘businessman’ spoke back, a smirk audible in his voice. “How have you been?”
“What do you want?” Dream cut right to the chase, eyes glancing towards Arielle who looked like she was gearing up to shout at him again.
“So cruel, Dream! And here I thought we were friends.” The man put a strange emphasis on the last word, and Dream’s brows furrowed in confusion.
“But no matter, I suppose.” Schlatt continued almost whimsically, stopping Dream from responding. “Instead I’ve got a… proposition, of a kind.” Dream’s eyebrow raised even as he held a hand up to Arielle in a desperate attempt to stop her from screaming again.
“And what is that?” Dream answered, keeping his voice carefully neutral. Schlatt chuckled from the other end, static jumping through the speaker of the communicator and warping his voice ominously. “Ah, well there’s no telling who’s listening. Come to Manberg in three days, at noon. You won’t regret it.” The man continued. Dream scowled in confusion, about to open his mouth to respond, before Schlatt whispered one tiny crucial piece of information into the god’s ear. And all of a sudden… 

…Dream’s world shattered.

Chapter Text

Fundy shivered as he darted through the Pogtopia ravine, trying to force his eyes to stay open despite the dust feeling like sandpaper whenever he blinked. Hissing as he almost ran straight into a barrel in the gloom, Fundy clutched the precious cargo in his arms tighter as he strained to see through the smog. He’d been running back and forth for his father for the last three months, trying to ‘prove his worth’ as Wilbur had spat at him during the first week, and the fox hybrid was feeling like he was reaching his limit. Or more like he’d crossed it a long time ago and was now left running on the fumes of fumes. No matter what he did, his father always looked at him with that cold, insane glare, as if his son was a representation of all Wilbur’s problems, and even the memory of it threatened to bring tears to Fundy’s eyes. “No, don’t cry you idiot.” He hissed to himself, trying to blink away his blurry vision. However, because of that, he never saw the edge of the chest he was on a collision course with. Yelping, Fundy’s leg gave out as it slammed into the hard metal rim of the chest, the rest of him toppling to the ground with a crash. The sack of gunpowder he’d been carrying flopped to the floor and burst open, showering the ground with the grey dust, and Fundy hissed as his hand smacked hard into the nearby wall when tried to catch himself. However, his face paled a moment later when he noticed the half-empty satchel of gunpowder he’d been trusted to transport, as well as the irritated swirls of the material as it ghosted across the ground. “Oh no no no-” Fundy chanted as he scrambled to his feet and swiped the satchel off the floor, trying to shovel the gunpowder back into the bag. It stung his hands and irritated his nose, but Fundy didn’t stop; he couldn’t-

“Fundy? What the hell are you doing?” The fox hybrid’s head snapped up and his expression twisted into terror that he didn’t quite manage to smother when he spotted his father stalking towards him. The man was suited up in half iron armour, missing only the helmet that was clutched under one arm, and his free hand was absently securing a diamond pickaxe to his belt. “Are you trying to make as much noise as possible?” The man drawled, a sneer twisting the edges of his lips, and Fundy had to resist the urge to flinch. However, he couldn’t help the way his ears flattened to his head and Wilbur’s eyes narrowed at the sight. “Don’t be such a wimp, man! C’mon, what-” And then Wilbur froze. His eyes tracked the gunpowder on the floor as it swirled from the movement of his coat and all of a sudden his eyes, which had been somewhat clear, glazed over with insane rage. “What. Is. This?” He gritted out, looming over Fundy who stared at him with wide eyes. 
“I- I-” The fox stammered, his eyes jumping to Wilbur’s hand which was now slowly unlatching the pickaxe from his belt once more.
“Wilbur!” Fundy jumped violently and Wilbur whirled around when Techno’s deep voice boomed down the cavern. The man was marching towards them, looking to Fundy like some kind of war god and if possible, the fox tried to shrink even further down at the scowl on the warrior’s face. “What?” Wilbur bit out, but Techno bulldozed right through the man’s attitude as if it was water off a duck’s back. 
“Get back over there. They need you to distribute the rest of the armour.” The warrior barked, his voice almost a growl, and even Wilbur leaned slightly back from the force of it. 
“And Fundy?” Wilbur drawled but Techno just lifted a set of iron armour he was carrying in his hands as one of his eyebrows raised condescendingly. 
“Now get.” Techno sniped, and Fundy half expected his father to bite back from the dark look on his face alone. But Wilbur must have seen something in Techno’s gaze, as instead of protesting, he just raised his hands in a mocking surrender and rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine! I’m going.” He muttered, stalking off the way he came after shoulder checking his brother. Not that it did anything but give himself a bruise, Techno not even jolting from the movement, but the warrior seemed to find it mockingly amusing by the raised eyebrow he aimed at his brother’s back as he walked away.

“You alright, Fundy?” Techno’s voice, suddenly much closer than the fox was comfortable with, snapped him from his thoughts with a squeak. He scrambled to his feet, dumping the satchel back on the ground and absently kicking it behind a chest as he did. “Ah- yes! I’m good, sir.” Fundy all but spat out, trying to rearrange his face into something a little less terrified. Techno raised an eyebrow at him but just grunted, holding out the iron armour towards the fox. “Here. We’re going mining, so put that on so you don’t die.” Techno bluntly stated and Fundy didn’t waste a second taking the offering from the man. 
“Oh! Thank you.” Fundy quickly began pulling on the armour as fast as he could, incredibly conscious that Techno was evidently waiting for him. The man didn’t bother returning to the group, even when Wilbur and Tommy’s voices began to raise. He just glanced over towards them with a frown on his face but didn’t move from Fundy’s side, and for some reason the fox’s instincts began to relax. It only got more confusing when Fundy realised the armour he was putting on was new, and not one of the half-broken and dented sets from their ramshackle of an armoury. ‘Did Techno make this for me?’ Fundy thought, glancing over to the man. He knew Techno didn’t need it, kitted out in his fancy netherite armour that gleamed in the torchlight, but the sudden generosity also didn’t make sense. Fundy had been raised on stories of his uncle from his father, and while to begin with it they’d been somewhat benign, the older Fundy got the more bitter Wilbur became. The stories turned from funny escapades to scathing remarks highlighting the way Techno had abandoned them, but now that Fundy thought about it… ‘If he abandoned them… then why did he come back to help now?’

“Are we all ready?” Wilbur called, marching towards Techno and Fundy with the rest of the group trailing behind. Tommy and Tubbo were attached at the hip as always, and Tubbo skittered away from Techno while the other blonde glared daggers at him. Niki and Quackity were paired up, both of them swapping pickaxes in the back so that Quackity had the singular iron one shared between them. Only Wilbur was alone, but Fundy assumed that he normally paired up with Techno so it wasn’t a problem- ‘Wait, what about me?’ Fundy glanced between everyone but none of them even looked his way. The only one who did was Techno, who caught his eyes with his own narrowed gaze and something that looked eerily like concern in his expression. However, it was wiped away a moment later and Fundy couldn’t be sure if he’d imagined it. “So, we’ll pair up like normal-”
“Fundy’s with me this time.” Techno suddenly announced, stepping so close to Fundy’s back that the fox tensed. Everyone swung around to face them, almost making Fundy want to shrink back into the barrier Techno could provide, but he held himself back. He wasn’t trying to be killed, thank you very much.

“Excuse you?” Wilbur asked, as if Techno’s entire sentence offended him. Techno just offered his brother a deadpan stare, pinning him with such a look of exasperation that Fundy could almost feel it from how close he was. “Fundy’s with me. He’s never done this before, so it’s best that he sticks with the strongest of us, yes?” Techno drawled, as if Wilbur were being the stupid one. Fundy’s father’s face dropped into a scowl, but everyone there knew that when it came to defence and survival within the group, Techno had the final word. What Fundy didn’t know was that it had been a universal rule ever since Wilbur tried to lead them on a mining trip and ended up having a tunnel collapse due to a creeper. Tommy had almost died from the initial explosion, and only Techno’s steadfastness had gotten them all out alive. Ever since then, Techno had been the de facto leader of their expeditions and Wilbur knew it.

Conceding, Wilbur just rolled his eyes and stalked past everyone, heading into the gloom of their mineshaft, and everyone else eventually trickled in behind him. Light murmured conversation started up, Fundy flinching as Tommy’s loud laugh seared his sensitive ears, but eventually most of the talking was muffled by the walls of the cave. Techno remained back by some chests a little while away, seemingly digging through them for something, and Fundy tried not to fidget as he waited. “Fundy.” Niki’s voice popped up behind him and Fundy glanced up.
“Niki? Am I going to die?” Fundy asked, his voice terribly squeaky. Niki just blinked in confusion, but when Fundy nodded his head to where Techno was, she smiled with amusement and shook her head. “No, you’ll be fine. I actually wanted to tell you to stick with him. He won’t let you get hurt.” Fundy raised a sceptical eyebrow, glancing to Techno and then back to Niki with wide eyes.
“Really? Him?” Niki giggled lightly behind a hand, and Fundy realised with a pang of worry that it was the first happy sound he’d heard from anyone in the last three months.  
“Yes, really. Let’s just say he’s… had a change of heart recently, I think. I’ve never seen him more opposed to Wilbur’s ideas than he is at the moment. Plus, he is very diligent whenever we’re mining. He’s saved my life a few times, even.” Niki mused before pinning a stunned Fundy with a serious stare. “Fundy, don’t trust everything your father says about him. Form your own conclusions, okay? He’s not as bad as Wilbur makes him out to be.”

Fundy watched as Niki jogged to catch back up with Quackity before the pair headed into the mineshaft, and therefore missed when Techno came up behind him. Jumping as Techno coughed pointedly, Fundy spun around only to have a fresh iron pickaxe dangled in front of his face. “Here. You won’t be able to do much without a pickaxe.” Techno drawled, and Fundy quickly caught the pickaxe when Techno let it go. Fundy stared wide eyed at the expertly forged item, running his finger with reverence over the shiny iron. He didn’t think he’d ever held such a fresh tool in his life, usually having shared them all with his father, so it was a novel experience for him. “Come on.” Techno suddenly called and Fundy darted up, rushing to catch up with the warrior before he was left behind. ‘Maybe this won’t be so bad.’ Fundy gingerly let himself hope.

‘Well this isn’t going terribly.’ Techno mused to himself as he crept through one of the unexplored caverns of the winding cave system beneath Pogtopia. He’d been slowly mapping it out over the last year, but as he wouldn’t trust the rest of their group to read a map, let alone write one, it had been slow going with only himself working on it. ‘Thinking about it though…’ Techno glanced back at Fundy, who was trotting along behind him, and wondered if maybe the fox might have inherited some kind of talent for maps from his mother. ‘Gods forbid Wilbur has any skill in it.’ Techno snorted to himself. The fox had stuck to his side like glue the entire time, much to Techno’s relief, and hadn’t complained about carrying his load of the minerals. His ears had been almost painfully perked the entire trip, swivelling around as he alerted Techno of the smallest of noises, and he’d even managed to hear a creeper sneaking up on them that might have managed to cause some damage, had they missed it. He’d been the complete opposite of both Tommy and Wilbur, Techno’s usual mining partners, and it meant that so far, the trip into the deep hadn’t been as headache inducing as it usually was.

“Uh- Technoblade sir, here!” Fundy called suddenly and Techno withheld an eye roll at the address.
“Drop the sir, kid.” Techno grunted back as he headed over, although he did hide a wince as the fox flinched from his tone. The boy was skittish around him, trying his best not to get on the wrong side of whatever temper Wilbur had evidently told him Techno possessed, and for once the piglin hybrid wished he was a little less intimidating. Sure, Techno could admit to himself that he did have a bit of a temper, but his brother should have known that he’d never subject anyone to it if they truly didn’t deserve it. In addition, it didn’t help that to his instincts, Fundy felt like little more than a young child. Although that was at least partially accurate; Techno knew that biologically the fox was only around five or six years old, even if physically and mentally he seemed much older. He was only three or four years older than his own daughter, and that knowledge made some part of him that usually only came out around Arielle, perk up with attention whenever Fundy was nearby. Although Techno kept having to smother it down lest he get distracted and end up getting them both killed as a result. 

“Is this gold? It is, right?” Fundy asked, peering with wide eyes at the tiny sparkle in the corner of the wall. It was barely a speck, even to Techno’s eyesight, and the man’s eyebrows raised as he realised how keen his nephew’s vision in the dark must be to be able to pick up on something that even he’d missed. “Let’s see…” Techno hummed as he scrutinised the exposed corner sharply, swinging his pickaxe into his hand and giving the mineral a light tap. The rock around it crumbled, revealing the potential-gold a little more, and Techno grinned as it caught the torch light and lit up with a medley of beautiful yellow and amber hues. “Yep, that’s gold. Good job.” Techno praised, blinking when a happy little smile crept onto Fundy’s face. ‘Huh, so treating him like Arielle seems to work. Good to know.’
“Can I get this one?” Fundy asked and Techno grunted an affirmative.
“Sure. There’s another patch of coal up ahead so I’ll grab that one.” Fundy nodded before readying his iron pick, a determined set to his expression. Leaving him to it, Techno headed off to the coal and hefted his netherite pickaxe before slamming it down into the vein. The rock exploded immediately, freeing several large lumps of coal that Techno swept up and dumped into one of the many mineral bags hanging around his waist. The one he’d designated for coal was already getting fat and heavy from their spoils and Techno mentally went through his list of items to check if he’d brought a crafting table. ‘Hmm, if not I think there’s an old abandoned mineshaft down this way somewhere, so I should be able to pilfer some wood from that-’

CLANG. “Damnit…” Techno’s head shot up as he heard Fundy curse, his eyes locking onto the boy a moment later. The fox was glaring down at the hole he’d created, a neat little pile of raw gold stacked to his right. However, even as he took another swing, Techno noticed how the pickaxe seemed to bounce off of whatever he was hitting rather than sinking through it, and the warrior’s eyes narrowed when he realised that Fundy’s arms were trembling from exertion. Sighing quietly, Techno hauled himself from the pit of coal he’d just finished excavating, clambering up to the main part of the cave before heading over. “You finished, Fundy?” He carefully asked, going with the ‘pretend nothing is wrong’ strategy he’d developed a few months ago. It had started when Arielle began insisting she could do everything herself, even if both he and Dream knew she couldn’t. However, they’d quickly learnt that trying to argue with the stubborn two year old just resulted in a tantrum and so they’d had to use some more… roundabout methods of offering their help. Just like Arielle, Fundy blinked up at him before shaking his head, trying to hold the pickaxe tighter in a show of strength as if it would hide his shaking arms. “Uh- not yet! Nearly though.” The fox exclaimed, fidgeting nervously. Techno peered into the hole and raised an eyebrow before humming in understanding as he realised what the problem was. Fundy had managed to get most of the gold out of the ground, but the last few chunks were embedded deeply into a fissure of deepslate. Techno knew from experience that deepslate was difficult to mine for most, even with a good pickaxe, but for someone who wasn’t used to mining it would be downright gruelling to mind, especially with anything less than diamond. Even Techno preferred to avoid it rather than dig through it if he could, although with how deep their cave seemed to go, Techno assumed they’d have to start braving the deepslate caves soon enough.

“Here, we’ll swap. I need to scout ahead, so finish this and then catch me up.” Techno unceremoniously dropped his netherite pickaxe in Fundy’s arms, causing the fox to yelp as he scrambled to grab it. Techno then swiped the rather beaten up iron one from the fox’s hold before it could drop and clatter against the floor (and inadvertently notify every mob in the caves of their location) and sauntered off without another word. A few moments later there was the satisfying crunch of deepslate giving way to netherite, as well as a small happy cheer, and Techno let a small grin of victory twist his lips as he continued on through the cave.

(What he didn’t see was the gobsmacked expression of Fundy as he walked away, the fox’s mind running in circles even as he began to use the priceless tool he now possessed. “Techno’s a pretty cool guy.” He mumbled when he knew the warrior was out of earshot. “Dad must have gotten the wrong end of the stick with him.” He huffed before slamming the pickaxe into the gold once more, breaking off even more chunks that rolled around his feet. And if his tail was swaying happily behind him, a little grin on his face, then well… there was no one around to mention it.)

Chapter Text

Techno snorted in amusement as Arielle whined pitifully and buried herself back under the blankets of her bed. “Don’t you want breakfast?” He cajoled, but his young daughter just snarled something inaudible into her pillow and pointedly pulled the covers over her head. Shaking his head with a sigh, Techno didn’t bother to try and hide his grin as he wandered into the main room of their bunker. He’d already been up for almost an hour, but Arielle had worn herself out the day before with Dream and the result was a grumpy two and half year old who didn’t want to get up. Techno had just decided to let her sleep in that morning, not wanting to risk a meltdown but also having woken up in a particularly good mood. He’d come back from Pogtopia feeling almost content, especially considering he usually returned with a foul temper from a combination of Wilbur’s insanity, Tubbo’s blaming stares, and Tommy’s vicious ire. But dealing with Fundy in comparison had been a breath of fresh air and hadn’t grated on Techno at all. However, as Techno wandered back into the enchanting room to finish carving out the little underground farm he'd been prepping ready for that year’s oncoming winter, a frown dropped onto his face. 

He could still remember the look of visceral terror on Fundy's face when he dropped that bag and Wilbur's reaction had all but confirmed the terrible truth that had been lurking in the back of Techno’s thoughts ever since Fundy had arrived. The thought of not intervening after that hadn't even crossed his mind, but when Techno looked back on the incident, he realised he wasn't sure when he went from revelling in the chaos of an argument to actively trying to prevent one. "Niki's corrupted me." Techno grumbled under his breath as he snagged his pickaxe from the ground. However, no matter what he tried to tell himself, he knew the truth. Ever since Arielle had literally been dumped into his life, Techno found himself looking at the world with new eyes. Suddenly a funny argument looked malicious, banter between brothers sounded abusive or, in Fundy and Wilbur's case, the latter man's treatment of his son seemed downright barbaric. All Techno had thought watching it was substituting himself and Arielle in Wilbur and Fundy's places and his reaction had been downright violent. He'd felt nauseous and terrified, the shame and righteous anger of even thinking of treating Arielle like that bubbling in his gut. But then the thought occurred- ‘Why didn't Wilbur think the same?’ Techno had banished that dangerous line of thinking as quickly as it came, but now that he was back in the safety of his home, his daughter sleeping peacefully a room over, he couldn't help but dwell on it. And of course, his own thoughts were never sacred and Chat wasn't exactly being quiet about the situation either.

"Bad Wilbur!"
“Protect the foxy boy!”
“KILL HIM!”
“Big Brother!Fundy?”
“Ari’s new brother?”
“Brother for the Blood Princess!”
“End Wilbur!”
“BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!”

"Yeah yeah." Techno snorted when Chat devolved into incandescent screaming, shaking his head as he trekked to the back of the gloomy cavern he'd been painstakingly carving out. He was determined to get some kind of food source up and running without having to rely on his cows, as if being in this world had taught him anything, it was that when winter came, farms were never safe. The room was about the size of his enchanting room at that point, but Techno was more concerned with getting running water filtering so deep underground. He knew there was an underwater reservoir somewhere nearby, since he was constantly battling dampness in one particular corner of his main room, but finding it without potentially collapsing his entire home was another problem entirely. And then there was making sure the different materials in the stone around them doesn’t poison any plants Techno would try and grow-
“Papa!” Techno jolted up so quickly that he almost smacked his head on an outcropping of rock he hadn’t removed yet. Spinning around, Techno opened his mouth to call out, one hand going to the sword he’d instinctively hung on his belt- “Papa, I wan’ food!” Arielle called again from somewhere in the main room, causing Techno to deflate with a sigh of amusement. However, before the man could start making his way out of the cavern, the communicator on his belt lit up with a harsh beep. Frowning, Techno unhooked the device, calling back, “One moment Arielle!” to his daughter. However, when the name registered Techno couldn't help but scowl.

“What’s up, Wilbur?” Techno answered reluctantly before wrenching the communicator away from his face when a horrific shriek crackled through the speaker. “Wil- what the hell?” Techno barked, eyeing the device as if it was about to blow up in his hand. Wilbur’s coughing filtered through a moment later as the noise cut off, his footsteps sounding unsteady as if he were stumbling around. “Fuck- that didn’t work.” Wilbur hacked out, although there was the usual faint mania under his tone that had Techno grinding his teeth.
“What are you doing?” Techno growled out again, rubbing at his sore ear with his elbow.
“Oh, nothing!” Wilbur chirped. “Just trying my hand at a bit of forging.” Techno’s eyebrows rose and he stared down at the communicator as if he wasn’t entirely sure he’d heard right.
“Wil- You haven’t forged anything in your life.” Techno remarked, unable to hide the incredulousness in his voice. 

Techno had always been the one to make the tools for their little family when they’d been living together, as working with metal just seemed to come naturally to him. Phil had taught him the techniques of course, but had been completely happy to hand the job over to Techno when he was old enough; the avian preferred his maps and building to any crafting professions. Plus, it didn’t hurt either that Techno, as a piglin hybrid, was impervious to everything but the hottest of temperatures. Therefore, with Techno taking up the job, Wilbur and Tommy had never needed to learn. Of course, Tommy hadn’t been allowed to learn before Techno had left, as the boy had only been twelve or so and Wilbur guarded him with the viciousness of a mother dragon most of the time. But that never stopped the younger blonde from sneaking into their home forge to watch Techno work and the piglin never ratted on him; it was a useful skill to learn. However, Wilbur had been the complete opposite. His books and poems and songs entrapped the older boy, dragging him away from the outdoors and confining him to the comfort of his room instead, or even the armchair in front of their fireplace. It meant that he hadn’t even entertained the thought of learning to forge, or whittle, or do anything so hands on. The only things he had learnt was fighting, since Phil had insisted upon it, and woodcrafting in order to keep his various instruments in top condition. He’d never worked with metal before though, at least as far as Techno could remember, and by the deafening screech of metal on metal from the communicator, the piglin knew his assumption was accurate.

Wilbur huffed with irritation, the crackling of static echoing through the speaker as the brunet moved around. “Excuse you! I made all the tools in Pogtopia!” Wilbur snarked back and Techno just snorted with a disparaging smirk.
“Okay, let me rephrase- you’ve never forged anything good in your life.” Techno snarked as Wilbur gasped in mock affront.
“How rude!” Wilbur whined, pitching the final word painfully high on purpose, and Techno felt a smile pull onto his face. For a moment he could forget where he was; forget the broken, insane man his brother had become and let his mind wander back to the kinder days of wrestling in the grass outside their home, Phil watching them from the porch with a smile and Tommy cheering them on in his lap. Wilbur’s voice was so achingly nostalgic, lacking the madness it had been tainted with recently, and it sounded just like it used to when he and Techno would spend hours playfully snarking back and forth and driving Phil up the wall in the process. Biting his lip, Techno let a frown drag his mouth down as the uncharacteristic longing threatened to drown him. 

“-set the date for maybe in a month or two? It shouldn’t be-” Techno tuned back into Wilbur’s ramblings with a blink before his eyes widened.
“Wait- what’s in a month or two?” He cut in, causing Wilbur to giggle in that horribly hysterical way Techno had been forced to get used to.
“Well, the Revolution of course!” Wilbur announced as if it was a forgone conclusion, a deranged smile in his tone, but all Techno felt was dread.
“What- Wilbur! We’re not ready!” Techno barked, desperation colouring his tone. Wilbur just scoffed down the line and immediately Techno knew that the brunet had switched off from him, caught in his own delusions instead. However, war was something Techno knew intimately, something that had dogged his steps ever since he was born into the bastion he only had a few hazy memories of. It had been there, following along when Phil had first rescued him from the world of fire and brimstone and had been there peeking over his shoulder when Techno picked up a blade for the first time. It had travelled the pits of Hypixel with him until Techno found himself in Dream’s war-torn world where it seemed to be breathing down his neck every moment of the day. There was nothing Techno understood better than war and so when Techno said they weren’t ready, then they weren’t. As much as the piglin wanted to avoid a fight with his brother, this wouldn’t be something he was backing down for; he couldn’t, not if he didn’t want the Pogtopians, people he’d come to slowly see as people rather than pawns, to die on a battlefield because they were woefully unprepared.

Wilbur scoffed and something squeaked in the background, as if the man had just sat down on one of the rickety wooden benches he’d begun ‘decorating’ the ravine with. “Don’t be dull, Techno! What’s a little danger when you’re fighting for something you believe in, huh?” Wilbur snarked with a mocking undertone but Techno just clenched his grip tighter around the forgotten pickaxe in his hand.
‘Do you even believe in this anymore though, Wil?’ Techno’s traitorous brain whispered. ‘Is there enough of you left to believe in anything at all anymore?’
“Wilbur, there’s a difference between ‘a little danger’ and going on a suicide mission!” Techno snarled and something in his tone must have given Wilbur a pause, as a silence dropped across the other end of the line. It dragged on for several tense moments before Wilbur’s breathing changed, growing more ragged and almost painful sounding, and Techno winced.
“...Well what do you want me to do Techno?” Wilbur spat, his tone biting and yet he sounded more like himself than he had for a long while. “We can’t keep waiting anymore; most of Schlatt’s people have defected, but that won’t help if everyone here is too depressed to do anything!” Wilbur ranted, sounding like he’d just stood up and started pacing. 
“Better depressed and alive than dead, Wilbur!” Techno snapped back. “Think about Tommy’s life-”
“You don’t get to say that to me!” Wilbur suddenly roared, causing even Techno to jolt. “You don’t get to stand there on the end of a bloody communicator and preach to me about how to protect Tommy! ‘Cause I’m sure you’ve conveniently forgotten, but you and dad fucked off! I was the only one around to even give a damn about Tommy! So don’t you dare try and use him against me!” Wilbur all but screamed, panting with the force of his rage. 

Techno just stared at the communicator, eyes wide and uncharacteristically speechless. He knew that Wilbur and Tommy didn’t think very highly of him, claiming that he’d cared more about his reputation as a warrior than spending time with them. And in a way, they were right. Techno did care more about making a name for himself because a name was something he could use as a shield. The strong protected the weak; it was the one thing his piglin father had taught him that he still remembered and fuzzy memories of his time in his home bastion had only reinforced those ideals. However, humans were far more complex socially then piglins and Techno realised that quickly; he couldn’t just hack and slash his way through the world in order to protect his family. No, instead he had to be smart about it. And so he was; he made himself a moniker so feared that no-one dared to touch anything associated with him, which worked so well that Wilbur and Tommy and even Phil to a lesser degree, never had to worry about the attacks Techno had lived with daily after he’d left but before he’d grown feared enough to be left alone. They’d never had to watch over their shoulders or anticipate a blade in the back and so to Techno’s mind he’d done a good job. He’d thought that his family knew what he was doing and knew he was doing it to protect them, and that surety had kept him going through the worst parts of his life. But now it was clear that something had gotten horrifically lost in translation and Techno had absolutely no idea of how to go about fixing it. 

Thankfully for Techno however, before the silence stretched too long Wilbur piped up again. “...Fine. We’ll give it until November, which gives us four months to prepare instead of two. Any longer than that and it’ll be too cold to do anything.” Wilbur grumbled, mood swinging back to manic with his tone more reminiscent of a petulant child than anything else. “Wil-” Techno licked his lips before hesitantly starting, but was almost immediately cut off by the click of the communicator, signifying a closed link. Techno could do nothing but stare at the device as it flashed after the ended call, his mind whirring. It felt like a hurricane had just ripped his worldview to shreds and Techno was almost hysterically thankful for Chat’s uncharacteristic silence as he tried to process the upheaval he’d been hit with. 

“Papa?” Techno’s head snapped up and his eyes locked onto Arielle, who was standing in the doorway to the half-finished farm room. A blanket from her bed was draped around her shoulders and trailing along the floor, her pink curls a riot on her head. Her posture was unsure and she was fidgeting back and forth on her feet, a small little frown on her face. But it was her golden eyes that stole the breath from Techno’s lungs. They were staring at him soulfully, almost glowing in the dim of the room, and there suddenly seemed to be such age in their depths that Techno was frozen. “Papa okay?” Arielle asked quietly, taking a few hesitant steps into the room. The movement snapped her father from his reverie and he took several long strides forward before scooping Arielle into his arms without so much as a by your leave. Arielle squealed before bursting into laughter and clutching onto her father, who took a quick look at her bare feet in the process and sighed in relief at finding them unharmed. The half-carved cavern floor was still strewn with sharp bits of rock and various materials Techno was using to reinforce the space as he went and therefore it was no place for a small child to run around in, let alone one without shoes.

Arielle giggled and rubbed her nose against the side of Techno’s neck, causing the man to let out an involuntary chuff in response. At the motion the piglin hybrid felt all his tension drain from his body and he gave Arielle a small smile. However, instead of returning it, the child just tilted her head as a small, almost concerned frown slipped onto her face. “Papa w’s angry?” Arielle asked quietly, patting his cheek, and Techno let his smile drop.
“Not at you, Arielle.” He reassured but Arielle didn’t look satisfied.
“No sad.” She ordered sternly, pointing at him with a finger. Techno just grinned and mimed biting at the appendage, causing her to snatch it back with a squealing laugh. “Papa, no!” She cried, hiding her arms under her armpits.
“Papa, yes.” Techno mimicked with a grin before gently running his fingers across her side. She squealed immediately, squirming into his chest, and Techno felt a rumbly laugh spill from his lips. “Come on then, let’s go get breakfast.” Techno stated, not giving the little girl a chance to retaliate as he wandered back into the main room. Arielle pouted at him but one corner of her mouth was twisted up, as if she were trying to hide a smile, and Techno couldn’t help but let that tiny expression wipe his encroaching terrible mood away. 

However, the trepidation still lingered and even as Techno began to prepare some food one handed, Arielle watching with sharp, inquisitive eyes from her position on his hip, the piglin hybrid found his mind racing. He knew what the armoury in Pogtopia looked like and it was a sad little room covered in dust and infested with cobwebs. Their tools weren’t much better, most restricted to stone as iron was in short supply and diamond was all but non-existent. Then the piglin hybrid couldn’t help but think of Tommy and Niki and their various heated but friendly debates Techno had heard when wandering past. He couldn’t help but wince at Tubbo’s scars and Fundy’s terrified flinches, or frown at Quackity’s frantic stuttering or Wilbur’s manic laughter. But worst of all he couldn’t help but dread the view of them all running into battle, underprepared and undertrained and getting slaughtered for it. He could almost see it happen in his mind's eye, see their bodies falling to their floor and the life draining from their eyes, and Techno knew then and there that he would not let that happen. ‘Fine.’ He thought, a scowl momentarily twisting his lips. ‘If no-one else can make sure they don’t all die, then I will.’

Chapter Text

Dream sauntered through Manberg’s ‘Great House’ as Schlatt had called it (getting a derisive snort from the god at the arrogant name) and ignored the wide-eyed looks he was getting from everyone he passed. His trusty axe Nightmare was strapped to his back in a pointedly threatening move and if the terrified glances were any indication, then the psychological warfare Dream had carefully prepared was already working. ‘Sheep.’ Dream chortled mentally to himself, a wide almost malicious grin stretching across his face where his mask would beautifully hide it. It was one thing he adored about his mask; it was creepy and terrifying but it also meant he didn’t need to worry about hiding his frankly, quite loud emotions. It was always something he’d struggled with, holding his emotions back, and once he’d awakened his abilities all those years ago it only got worse. So not having to worry about that was a blessing Dream knew he wouldn’t be giving away any time soon. ‘Well, as long as Ari doesn’t pinch it from me.’ Dream’s smirk softened then into a smile that was more affectionate than anything, the god fondly remembering the wide, sparkly-eyed grin the little girl had shot at him a few days before. There was just something about being in Arielle's presence that soothed Dream, in direct contrast to the disgusting lavish hallway he was walking through, and the god couldn’t help but wish to be anywhere but Manberg in that moment. Plus the fact that the whole town represented a threat that could tear Dream's new, fragile peace that he'd gotten disgustingly attached to for the last year to shreds, didn't help matters.

Reaching the ornate wooden doors at the end of the hallway, Dream nonchalantly knocked twice before settling himself against the wall to wait. He knew what people like Schlatt were like; they intimidated others and they relished in it and the first step to that was to make Dream wait for him, as if the god was beneath the mighty leader of Manberg. Dream snorted at the thought before shaking his head and instead starting to tap away at his communicator. ‘At least I can get some decent work done.’ The god mused, although he couldn’t fool himself into believing that he was entirely focussed on his godly responsibilities at that time. Something about what Schlatt had said during their abrupt conversation (“How’s that little pet project of yours going?”) was rubbing Dream the wrong way and while he was pretty certain that Schlatt had meant Pogtopia, the lack of verification was driving the god insane. 

“Come in!” Schlatt suddenly shouted, causing Dream to jolt and scramble to catch his communicator before it smashed to the floor. Breathing out a sigh of relief, the god re-attached the machine to his belt before pulling open the ridiculously heavy oak doors. ‘Well that was sooner than I’d imagined.’ Dream thought, although all those thoughts fled once he entered the room. It was a posh looking office, not unlike some of the ones he’d seen back in Hypixel, but where those were filled with personal knick knacks and too much paperwork to even comprehend, Schlatt’s office was more of a statement piece than a room. It was decorated with golden accents almost everywhere Dream looked, causing him to wince when a reflected beam of light slashed at his eyes. Everything was polished to perfection with paintings and other artworks hung around the walls. There was a large window at the centre-back of the room and in front of it sat Schlatt at his huge desk, the man absently fiddling with a pen as he stared Dream down. He was reclined backwards as if he was completely at ease, watching Dream with dark eyes, and one of his legs was crossed over his knee. However, while Schlatt and the room at large looked prim and proper, Dream’s sensitive nose never failed to pick up on the stench of alcohol that hadn’t quite managed to be aired out and there was also a strange blackness hanging around every corner and inside the shadows, something that had Dream’s face splintering. ‘That’s not good-’

“Welcome, Dream! Do take a seat.” Schlatt offered theatrically but Dream wouldn’t be moved.
“I’d rather stand, thanks.” Dream sniped, although being careful to keep his tone perfectly polite. He was rewarded with a slight narrowing of Schlatt’s eyes but the ram hybrid shrugged off the snub easily. “Well, it’s your choice!” The man returned with a sneer but Dream didn’t say anything, simply waiting for the detestable man to continue. “Anyway, Dream! I’ve called you here to… well, make a deal I suppose.” The ram started and Dream tensed.
“For what?” Schlatt grinned sharply, a hint of a canine poking out from his lip, and Dream frowned. ‘I didn’t think rams had particularly sharp teeth…’
“Your services in the upcoming war, of course!” Schlatt announced and Dream held himself carefully still. However, somehow the ram was able to read him like a book and he smirked nastily at him. “Oh yes, I know something is going to happen soon… maybe in, say, four months?” Dream held his breath against the gasp he wanted to give out, eyes widening behind his mask. 
‘But Techno only told me-!’
“Unfortunately however-” Schlatt continued, heedless to Dream’s internal turmoil. “-it seems I’ve found myself with a distinct lack of good men. Most of them turned out to be cowards, in fact. How… disappointing.” Schlatt all but growled out that last word, something dark in his eyes that had Dream’s mind running in circles. It was faintly familiar somehow, as if he’d seen it before, but the memories just refused to come to him.

Dream tilted his head as he pretended to think about it, although memories of curly pink hair and wide, happy golden eyes had already finalised his decision for him. “And what makes you think I’d help you?” The god asked with a little bit of his derision leaking into his tone. Schlatt’s grin grew even wider, if that was possible, and he reached into his desk. There were a few moments of silence broken only by papers being shuffled around before a small black book was laid delicately on the desk in front of Dream. Suddenly the darkness in the room seemed to triple and Dream held back his powers before they instinctively lashed out to protect him. However, Dream's instincts had been thoroughly alerted and his mind spun into action as he tried to figure out what had managed to startle his powers into truly awakening for the first time in almost one hundred years. Staring at the book, Dream carefully felt it out with his power before almost physically recoiling as the most horrific, nauseous magic retaliated against him. The book seemed innocent at first glance and Dream frowned, his eyes scanning the cover to see if there was any hint as to why it was radiating so much malice and pure darkness- Dream froze, eyes wide as he resisted the urge to stumble backwards. ‘No. No, it can’t be!’ His mind screamed and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from the engraving in the leather. It had originally been a circle with a line horizontally through the centre, but a dark burn mark had been overlaid with it. Now it looked more like two half circles facing away from each other and joined in the middle by a cross, while the bottom of the cross overlapped with the original circle. Even just the sight of that horrifically familiar symbol had goosebumps breaking out across Dream’s body and he felt sweat beginning to gather on his forehead. ‘Oh gods… why him?!’ Dream thought almost hysterically, ignoring Schlatt who was watching his reaction with darkly satisfied amusement.

“I see you recognise my little bargaining chip. I thought you would.” Schlatt remarked almost offhandedly and Dream glanced between him and a book with wide eyes. It was as if Schlatt had absolutely no clue about the horror he was so casually drumming his fingers against the cover of, but when Dream thought again, he realised… he probably didn’t have any idea. ‘Shit. I’ve got this this away from this idiotic human before he hands himself over to it on a silver fucking platter!’
“Have you used it?” Dream asked, trying to keep his voice carefully even. Schlatt snorted but shook his head and the relief Dream felt at that was unimaginable.
“Nah, I haven't needed to yet. But I have a feeling you do.” Schlatt smirked wolfishly and Dream froze.
"...And what do you mean by that?" Dream managed to grit out, although his voice wasn't quite as steady as he'd hoped for. Schlatt's smirk grew wider and he picked up the book before beginning to swing it between back and forth two fingers like a pendulum. Dream held his muscles perfectly still to avoid flinching from the deceptively simple action but he could already feel the primal terror sinking into his chest and digging its claws into his lungs. "Oh, no reason. Say Dream, you didn't truly think the whole cat excuse would get by me, right?" The ram chortled while Dream's breath froze in his lungs.
'Oh fuck-'
"Well, it didn’t. It's clear to me that you're hiding someone. Someone who you really want to keep away from the war, I bet." Schlatt continued with a dirty, smug sneer. "You've been spending so much time over by Pogtopia- oh yes, I've had my people watching, don't seem too shocked." Schlatt laughed when Dream couldn't keep himself from visibly tensing. "I know where those fucking rats are! Have done for a while, really." 

Dream swallowed and desperately tried to think of a solution to clawing back his control of the conversation. It'd gone in such a wildly different direction than he'd planned and the fact that his instincts were screaming at him to run as far as possible from the deceptively small black book in Schlatt’s hands wasn't helping. “Now I have no interest in digging around to see what you’re hiding, but if it’s so precious to you… well, this book might be helpful, wouldn’t you say?” Dream’s brows furrowed at that.
“Helpful how?” Dream couldn’t help but take the bait and Schlatt snorted.
“Well, I’m sure you of all people wouldn’t be able to pass up on the opportunity to revive your precious pet when it inevitably expires.” Schlatt’s tone seemed to warp, dialect growing more ancient and formal as he continued. There was a darkness growing in his eyes and the shadows almost started to dance across the room. However, Dream didn’t notice. No, all that was going through his mind were those damning words from that horrible book, ‘-life expectancy of-’ and Dream slammed his eyes shut to try and banish them from his mind. But he couldn’t deny that Schlatt’s words had tempted the darkest, most desperate part of himself that Dream had forcibly locked away even since she’d died in his arms. Golden eyes and a bright smile flashed across his vision and Dream took in a silent, shuddering breath as his mind tumbled over in circles. He knew he couldn’t; he shouldn’t agree to being even in the same room as that damned book, but… ‘But for Ari… and… maybe for her-’

“So… what will it be, Dream? Do we have a deal?” Schlatt snapped the god back to the present, where his gaze immediately landed on the book. It was still as horrific and deplorable as ever, radiating twisted magic like a blast furnace, but underneath all that there was a kernel of darkness that wasn’t tainted. Dream hadn’t felt it before, but now that he had… Taking a deep breath, Dream met Schlatt’s eyes and made his decision.

(A few miles away, Techno snapped awake with a shout as Chat suddenly exploded within his mind, screaming and shouting. Arielle jolted away with an annoyed grumble next to him, although quickly curled back into a ball against his side and fell back to sleep. However, Techno couldn’t. Chat was still going mad inside his head and Techno let out a long hiss between his teeth as a headache burst to life behind his eyes. Although, before he snapped at them to shut up like he normally would have done, Techno… listened. He listened because while they were so wound up their words blurred into an unrecognisable mass of sounds, their tone was… scared. “What’s… going on?” Techno breathed but Chat never answered. They just kept screaming.

In another place, far away from Dream’s world, a blonde man snapped awake to the sound of his lady’s anguished and wrathful cry, a flock of crows echoing her like an orchestra of death.

And in the back of a little girl’s mind, a lady’s voice wordlessly sobbed.)

‘I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me.’

Chapter Text

Techno’s head snapped up when he heard something distantly splash above them into the entrance of his base-turned-home. Arielle, who’d been happily smashing two rocks together and making nonsensical babbling noises a few metres away, also glanced up with a frown. “Papa?” She asked, dropping the rocks with a crash before clambering to her feet. Already she was far more stable than a year ago and rarely did she ever trip over anymore. In fact, she seemed to be able to navigate the base in the dark even better than Techno could, which was only one of the interesting tidbits he’d been mentally storing away in the back of his mind. “Stay here, I’ll go check.” Techno responded, gently setting his pickaxe down and brushing his hands together as  he headed to the ladder up. He hadn’t had the chance to set up a bubble column yet, not to mention he had no clue how Arielle would react to one; whenever either he or Dream took her out for the day, they still used the concealed staircase to get out. So, it was a long ladder climb instead. “Techno? Ari?” Dream’s voice echoed down the ladder just as Techno went to start climbing and the warrior relaxed. 
“Dream, there’s a lever under the enchanting table, flick it!” He called back, absently registering Arielle toddling up to his side. A little hand latched onto his trouser leg, lightly tugging twice, and almost on autopilot, Techno reached down and scooped Arielle into his arms before comfortably settling her on his hip.

A moment later Dream emerged from the ladder, hopping down the last few rungs with a huff. “What on earth- woah.” Dream started before his eyes widened as he took in the sight of the strange new room. It was a cavernous space split into three rows or chambers, each with their walls carved inwards as if to make space for storage or something similar. It was so deep there were chunks of bedrock sticking through the stone floor, while numerous torches along the walls kept the place from looking too gloomy. Already there was a mountain of chests to the side that seemed to have been haphazardly thrown together and Dream spotted another opening leading to what looked like an obsidian-lined room. One side of the room seemed mostly carved out already, but the other wasn’t anywhere near close, with jagged walls and holes, and the god managed to spot the gleam of Techno’s pickaxe temporarily abandoned in the rubble. “What’s this?” Dream asked and Techno snorted as Arielle made grabby hands for the god. He obligingly passed her over, Dream taking her automatically, where she immediately went to town on unlatching his mask like she always did. The knots and loops the god kept having to tie his mask to his face with were growing truly elaborate now, but none had managed to best the toddler and her nimble fingers just yet. “Preparation.” Techno started, wandering further into the room as Dream followed. “Wilbur seems to think we’ll win this war with no supplies, but I know better. I plan to stockpile what we need here.” Techno explained and Dream nodded, even as Arielle shrieked happily and finally snatched his mask from her face. A moment later she was wriggling to be put down so Dream carefully set her on her feet, where she trotted back off to her favourite rocks as if to show them her hard-earned spoils. 

“That room through there-” Techno started, pointing into the obsidian room. “-is where you and Arielle will be staying during the fight, since I’ll be bringing the others in here to stock up just before the battle itself. It's fully soundproof so you shouldn’t need to worry about being found.” Techno explained and the god hummed with curiosity. However, then the warrior’s words registered and Dream’s eyes darkened and he grimaced, immediately setting off Techno’s mental alarms. “Oh, uh- about that…” The god started, fidgeting, and Techno frowned. “I’m not going to be able to stay uninvolved after all.” Dream admitted and immediately dread dropped into Techno’s stomach.
“What?” He hissed, a scowl bleeding across his face. “We can’t leave Arielle here alone, Dream! She’s not even three yet!” Techno growled, eyes glowing like the colour of bloody fire, and Dream winced.
“I know that-” The god started to snap back before he took a breath. “Something has come up that I can’t bypass, Techno. And it means I need to fight with Schlatt.” Dream explained and Techno’s eyes widened. “Wait- not actually. My plan is to put up a decent showing against the Pogtopians before eventually surrendering. I just need to show that I’m on his side.” Dream hurried to reassure him, not missing the fact that Techno had been unconsciously shifting to place himself between Dream and Arielle. A sting of hurt lanced through him at that (‘-as if I would ever hurt Ari-’) but he forced himself to rationalise that if Techno had just said he was switching to Schlatt’s side, Dream probably would’ve taken Arielle and run for the hills as well. 

“What’s so important that you have to ruin our plans so completely?” Techno asked, voice high with incredulousness. Neither man noticed Arielle perking up from a little ways away, one of her butterfly-esque ears twitching as she tilted her head to watch. “I can’t tell you- no, I really can’t, Techno.” Dream added when he saw Techno open his mouth to protest. “It’s unimaginably dangerous and Arielle needs you.” Dream stressed, which caused the warrior’s mouth to snap shut. 
“Look, I know what I’m doing. Just… you’ll have to trust me. Once the war is over, that’ll be that and it’ll all go back to normal.” Dream tried to reassure, although by the sceptical raised eyebrow Techno was shooting at him, the pinkett didn’t seem to agree.
“Okay, fine.” Techno finally relented with an annoyed scowl. “But this means we’re back to square one. I can’t abandon the Revolution, since I’m now their only decent fighter. So who’s going to look after Arielle?” Dream frowned, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a solution. He knew he could contact the Captain, but getting Arielle to him would be the difficult part, especially since Schlatt- Dream’s eyes widened in horror. “Wait- Techno. Schlatt knows.” Dream spat out in a rush and Techno immediately went ramrod still. “Well, not about Ari exactly, but he knows I’m at least hiding someone. He hasn’t connected it to you yet though.” Techno cursed under his breath, glancing back to Arielle who was still watching them.
“Don’t repeat that, okay Arielle?” Techno quickly called, ignoring Dream’s muffled snickers. Arielle frowned a little in confusion before eventually shrugging and going back to her rocks and pilfered mask, and not for the first time Techno thanked the gods that Arielle was usually as well behaved as she was. 

“So we can’t take Arielle out of here anymore, or at least until Schlatt is gone.” Techno turned back to Dream to summarise and the god nodded with a grave expression, his mirth evaporating like water next to lava. “But you now can’t help the Revolution because of something Schlatt said to you.” Dream sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair aggressively in an uncharacteristic nervous tick. 
“Techno, if this works out… this might be a way to save Ari.” Dream finally admitted and Techno froze. He’d not forgotten about that horrible (and now destroyed) book, but he’d been trying his best not to think about it. Arielle’s rash had finally calmed down, although it had been replaced with strange dark purple and turquoise masses that Techno hesitated to call scales, so dark that their colour was only visible under direct light. They were harder than regular skin and glittered like diamonds in the light, but since they no longer seemed to be hurting his daughter, Techno had cautiously decided they were a non-issue. And then Wilbur had declared a final much too soon date for the Revolution and Techno’s attention had been thoroughly derailed. But Dream's words just opened the floodgates once more and the pinkett clenched his fists so tightly he felt his nails shred into his palms.

“Dream…” Techno warned, a light growl in his tone, but Dream’s face remained as serious and sure as it ever was.
“I wouldn’t joke about this, Techno. So I need to do this.” The god stated, his voice as immovable as stone, and Techno finally realised that nothing he said would dissuade the man from this path. Sighing, Techno deflated and rubbed his hands together, wincing at the fresh cuts. “That doesn’t solve what we’re doing with Arielle.” He muttered and Dream winced.
“What if we slowly start getting her used to being alone?” The god gingerly offered, only to get a vicious glare for his efforts.
“Techno, we can’t be in two places at once!” Was the god’s exasperated response. “And no-one else knows about her. There’s literally no other option.” Techno bit his lip but knew he couldn’t exactly refute it. But still… “What if something happens to do with her… heritage, Dream? And we’re not there?” Techno hissed and Dream winced.
“There’s no way to predict that. I’ve been looking, but none of the books I’ve seen will give me a straight answer.” Dream huffed out an irritated breath. “The term ‘Phantom’ only popped up around five hundred years ago and all their descriptions are different. Sometimes they’re the size of a mountain and other times they’ll fit into your hands. Then some have wings while others have no limbs at all!” Techno scowled and glanced at Arielle, who’d progressed to giggling with Dream’s mask held to her face. He could just see the creeping almost-black scales from behind her collar, her butterfly ears poking out from either side of the mask, but none of those features had been any help to them understanding exactly what a Phantom was so far. And if all the descriptions were useless as well… “I remember some vague creatures similar to Ari’s colouration, but their names were different and frankly, I don’t know anything about them.” Dream admitted and for a moment Techno was distracted by the incredulous question of just how old Dream was. ‘Wait, for him to remember a time before Phantoms were named…’ Techno’s mind whirled while the god in question scowled at the ragged stone floor, oblivious to the warrior’s internal crisis.

“We have no other choice, Techno.” Dream finished, snapping Techno from his thoughts, and the irritation in the god’s tone revealed how much he hated the situation as much as Techno did. The pair of them met gazes and a silent conversation passed between them before Techno reluctantly huffed and backed down. “Fine.” Then, the pinkett suddenly grinned savagely (although Dream didn’t miss how it was a little more washed out than usual). “But you get to deal with Arielle after the first time we leave her alone.” Techno ordered and Dream’s face immediately whitened.
“Shit. ”

Niki clutched onto Fundy and Tubbo as Schlatt sauntered away, Wilbur standing in front of them with fists clenched. She could still hear his high cackle when he declared their home was now planted with the very same explosives that Wilbur had assured them would take out Schlatt, and she shivered at the terrible thought. Fundy crowded even closer to her, ears pinned to his head and tail lashing unconsciously while Tubbo’s eyes were wild with primal fear. Tommy was cursing under his breath to the side, but Niki could see the boy’s hands shaking as he clenched and unclenched them. Quackity was nowhere to be seen, having scarpered when Schlatt had shown up (not that Niki could blame him after almost being killed by the man’s lackeys) and Techno hadn’t been seen for several days by that point, although that wasn’t entirely strange for the piglin hybrid. The only person who was perfectly still was Wilbur, but with him facing away from them Niki couldn’t get a read on him. She used to be able to; they’d been as thick as thieves before and she’d always been able to read him like an open book. But this new version of her friend was like a stranger to her and the woman blinked back the terrified tears from her eyes. With Quackity and Techno gone and Wilbur diving ever deeper into the looming pit of insanity, it fell to her as the only adult left to hold the three kids ( ‘-and gods, they’re just kids-’) together.

“Wil? What do we do?” Niki finally asked, swallowing around the waver of her voice. While she knew she was the only responsible adult there, she couldn’t deny that she was utterly, horribly terrified. “Nothing.” Was Wilbur’s reply, his voice as dry as the desert and utterly void of any emotions. She felt Fundy flinch by her side while Tubbo closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath, but it was Tommy’s reaction that startled them all. “Fuck that!” The blonde suddenly exploded, stomping forward. “We need to get rid of it! Come on Wilbur, stop being such a pussy-”
“Shut up Tommy!” Wilbur roared and spun around, causing the blonde to reel pack as if he’d been slapped, a shard of hurt lancing across his face. Wilbur in comparison looked even more unhinged, face twisted into a sneer and a manic gleam in his eyes that Niki was horrified to find familiar. A tense silence fell for several moments, an invisible line being drawn in the grass between them as the standoff continued. There was Wilbur, facing them down with his mania and moods that see-sawed uncontrollably. And then on the other side was Tommy, staring at his older brother like he’d never seen him before with Niki, Tubbo and Fundy cowering behind him. And Niki was cowering, she wasn’t above admitting. She didn’t know when she’d gotten used to standing back and just watching, but the shame burned brightly in her chest

Niki knew that she shouldn't, that as the adult she should step in, but she suddenly realised that she’d gotten used to standing back because the last person she’d have expected had started stepping in. Techno had spent the last several months fielding every single argument between the brothers, distracting Wilbur or ordering Tommy away to break the tension. Niki’s eyes flew wide as she realised he’d been doing it for the others as well, but she’d only truly noticed it when Techno began stepping in for Fundy. He’d lead the fox away, or provoke Wilbur himself to draw the man’s attention, and even then Niki couldn’t remember the last time that Fundy had been paired with anyone other than Techno. And Techno would always be the one to declare he’d partner with the fox before anyone else got the chance. She’d gotten so used to being able to take a step back that she’d almost forgotten how to take a stand and she knew that Techno never would- Niki’s thoughts stuttered to a halt and she almost missed when Wilbur stormed off back towards Pogtopia. ‘Wait… when did I start using Techno as a standard to hold myself to?’ Her mind whispered, flabbergasted. She never got an answer.

Chapter Text

Techno had to force himself to keep moving into the ravine, trying to distract his mind from the thought of Arielle being all alone back in their home (and he wasn’t entirely sure when his base had turned into ‘their home’ in his mind but at that point he was far too preoccupied to freak out about it). Dream was keeping an eye on her with his special godly magic, or whatever ‘spy tech’ he had, as Techno was putting it, but that didn’t mean the piglin hybrid’s skin wasn’t absolutely crawling at the thought of leaving Arielle entirely defenceless. His instincts were screaming at him to go back and never let his girl out of his sight and Chat alternating between reassurances, prophecies of doom and then downright mocking jeers wasn’t helping matters. However, Techno’s logic was thankfully winning out and the man knew that this was the only way for him to protect Arielle and keep her out of the war looming on the horizon, as well as supporting his brothers like he’d always vowed he would (-even if he wasn’t sure if they really deserved it anymore-).

Techno shook his head viciously with a snort as he clunked into the bottom of the ravine, his armour’s clanking echoing through the gloomy space. To begin with Pogtopia had been somewhat comfortable, at least in atmosphere; more often than not the space had been filled with Wilbur and Tommy bickering good naturedly with Niki giggling in the background and Tubbo cheering on the chaos like the gremlin he was. But now, over a year later, the whole revolution seemed to be splintering under their feet like melting ice across a lake, threatening to drop them all into freezing water that reeked of death. Tubbo was a ghost more often than not, slinking around the ravine unseen, and Techno hadn’t gotten more than mere glimpses of him ever since that disaster of a Festival. Tommy was a walking ball of anger and frequently got into screaming matches with an increasingly unhinged Wilbur that would spill out across the ravine and send everyone running. Fundy seemed to stick to Niki’s side like glue, as if the older woman could protect him, although curiously whenever Techno was in the picture the fox was never far behind him. Quackity barely showed his face and seemed to flee the moment Techno entered the room, as if the warrior was the man’s personal omen of death. Their ‘team’, if it could even be called that, was fracturing more as the days went by and suddenly Techno realised that Wilbur had a point in deciding the day of the fight to be so soon; there wouldn’t be much of a team left if they waited much longer.

“-listen to me, Wil! You’re-” Techno’s eyebrows raised when he heard, not Tommy’s voice screaming down the ravine as he’d gotten used to, but instead Niki’s. Picking up the pace, Techno glanced to the side when he noticed Fundy peeking out from a doorway with his ears pinned right back against his head and his tail quivering against his legs. The fox was faintly trembling, his grip on the doorframe tightening and loosening as if undecided on if he should try and intervene, and something in Techno’s instincts snarled at the damage done to such a young kit. “Stay there, kid.” Techno gruffly ordered, wincing a little when Fundy jumped and spun to face him with wide eyes. However the fox seemed to relax the moment he laid eyes on Techno and nodded shakily before retreating back into his room, much to Techno’s relief. 

Frowning at his own reaction, Techno brushed it off the moment a crash echoed from further down the ravine. Hurrying forward, the piglin hybrid couldn’t help but let his hand hover over his sword hilt, just in case, and fearlessly stepped into the storage room that seemed to be the source of the shouting. Niki was squaring off against Wilbur, although by the way she was faintly trembling and Wilbur was looming over the woman like some kind of demon, it was clear she wasn’t getting anywhere with him. However, she wasn’t backing down; there was a shaky scowl of determination spread across her face and she didn’t move away as Wilbur crowded into her space. A whole barrel of what looked like gunpowder had been knocked over and broken only a few feet to Niki’s left and Techno’s eyes narrowed dangerously when he spotted Wilbur holding a shovel menacingly just outside of Niki’s sight. “I don’t have to listen to you!” Wilbur roared, a sneer so uncharacteristic stretching his face that Techno momentarily paused. “You’re just a weak-willed bitch who doesn’t know the pointy end of a sword from the hilt-” Wilbur ranted but Techno, flabbergasted at the words coming out of his brother’s mouth, had heard enough.

“Wilbur!” The warrior thundered, his voice crashing through the small room like a tsunami, and the man in question immediately choked on his words and flinched. His eyes were wide and slightly terrified as they shot up to meet Techno furious’ red gaze and if the way Wilbur was shaking was any indication, his younger brother had taken him completely by surprise. Niki similarly jumped with a squeak, stumbling backwards and away from Wilbur while trying to twist to face Techno at the same time. However, the movement was awkward and Techno’s arm shot out, latching onto Niki’s just in time to stop her tripping over and face planting the stone. The woman blinked up at him in bewilderment as the piglin gently let her go, but the fact that she didn’t immediately retreat from his side said it all. In contrast, Wilbur suddenly seemed to transform from manic hysteria to a man who looked deathly afraid of his own shadow and Techno winced at the deep, black bags under his older brother’s eyes. 

“O-oh, hey there T-Techno-” Wilbur started to stutter but one look at the way Niki was all but cowering behind him had Techno hardening his heart.
“What. Happened.” The piglin hybrid demanded and Wilbur swallowed. However, all it took was one severe glare and the brunet began stuttering so badly that Techno couldn’t make heads or tails of what he was trying to say. “Um- Schlatt has, uh, planted tnt somewhere in Pogtopia.” Niki hesitantly started, drawing Techno’s attention. “I’ve been digging around to try and find it, but Wilbur found me and, uh- he didn’t agree.” The woman’s voice trailed off into a nervous whisper at the end and Techno glanced back to Wilbur, catching the tail end of a vicious glare the man had directed at Niki before he quickly wiped it away.

Techno’s eyes narrowed as his nose twitched, the heady, sharp scent of gunpowder invading his senses. He’d thought he noticed it when wandering through the main ravine, but Pogtopia had seen so much of the stuff that he thought it had been some lingering scent. But now he wasn’t so sure. “Good idea, Niki. I’ll join you.” Techno rumbled and turned to leave the room, ignoring the defiant and bewildered expression on Wilbur’s face.
“Wha- Techno! There’s no need for that! It’s just a bit of fun! Danger ups the ante, right?!” Wilbur almost desperately exclaimed and Techno’s stride stuttered as he tried to digest the absolute insanity that his brother had just come out with. Techno still was on the fence about the whole blowing up Manberg plan, but even he knew he wouldn’t be going through with it until every single person had escaped the town. But Wilbur seemed to think it was perfectly fine to leave live tnt buried inside of their base where it could very easily kill their allies and even his own brothers, and Techno just- froze. “Wilbur, get out here. We need to have a chat.” Techno snarled, causing Niki to flinch a little as she rushed from the room. Wilbur eyed him shrewdly but followed his brother from the room, letting Niki back inside to finish his inspection.

Techno rounded on Wilbur the moment they stepped outside, his red gaze narrowed to mere slits. “What the hell are you playing at?!” He hissed, only for his ire to spike as Wilbur just rolled his eyes at him.
“Way to overreact, Tech-” Wilbur choked as Techno’s hand wrapped around his throat and slammed him hard against the stone wall. The brunet’s eyes were wide with stupefaction but Techno didn’t notice; all he could hear was Chat roaring in the back of his mind, some long buried protective instinct welling up inside of him like a deadly tsunami. All the facts seemed to click in his head at once; his home, where his very young daughter was living, was easily within the danger distance if all that TNT (and he’d seen the sheer mass of explosives Wilbur had amassed) detonated. But even then, with Dream nearby, Techno knew Arielle’s chances of getting out of that kind of disaster unscathed was still astronomically better than everyone in Pogtopia. There was only one tiny exit preceded by already-treacherous stairs, there was no god to bail them all out, and the ravine top was already crumbling and Techno had been forced to reinforce it several times to stop the whole thing from caving in on them. If even one piece of TNT went off it would be potentially fatal, let alone the metric tonne that Wilbur had lost.  

Niki’s shaky but determined face flashed across the piglin hybrid’s mind, followed by Fundy’s terrified but relieved expression whenever Techno declared they’d be working together. He couldn’t unsee Tubbo’s betrayal-laced gaze but also of all the bonfires they used to share, back when all four of them were considered brothers. Back when their insults were more playful than cutting, back when they were all younger and more carefree and watched over by the man they all considered their father, even if only two of them were related to him. But even now, it wasn’t just about them anymore. Techno understood now; no-one in Pogtopia deserved the hand they’d been dealt and they, more than anything, didn’t deserve to lose anymore. Techno couldn’t help but imagine his family and, dare he say it, friends crushed under the rubble of his insane older brother’s ridiculous decisions, of them losing the little freedom and hope they still had, and he just- He refused.

“-echno! STOP!” Techno burst back through the haze of rage obscuring his vision to the feel of an arm yanking at his and a warm mass clenched in his hand. His vision cleared to see Wilbur- his brother staring at him with terror in his wide eyes, his skin pale as he choked. The sight shocked him so badly that Techno all but threw himself backwards and away from the taller man, who collapsed to the floor with a series of hacking coughs a moment later. There was a smaller, trembling hand digging into the flesh of his shoulder but when Techno turned around, the owner let him go as if the mere contact was burning him. Tommy’s eyes met his, his body trembling with adrenaline as some unholy combination of confusion, horror and fear flashed across his face. Then it was covered by rage and Techno didn’t even have time to brace himself before the younger boy had started screaming. 

“What the fuck, Techno?! Why- what did- what?!” Tommy spluttered, glancing between his brothers as one panted on the floor and the other stared at his hand as if he’d never seen it before. Wilbur was only just beginning to sit himself up, eyes still terrifyingly wide as one of his hands drifted up to his neck. Tommy was edging his way around Techno to reach him and the piglin hybrid just stood there like an outsider, as if he was squaring off against the only family he’d ever known. His instincts were howling at him, Chat for once almost drowned out by the piglin side of him that he’d thought he’d buried for good. It had always been more of a hindrance than a help before, urging him to care and protect in the pits of Hypixel where the only way to survive was to kill and win. He hadn’t heard more than a whisper from that part of his mind for nearly four years and had almost forgotten that he was one of the so called ‘unlucky ones’ to get the instincts of his hybrid as well as the physical traits. However, he couldn’t forget anymore; not when they’d just blown through all of his hard-earned barriers and urged him to almost strangle his brother to death in order to ‘protect his sounder’. As if his brother wasn’t included in it anymore-  

“Techno.” The piglin took a deep breath and turned achingly slowly to Niki, who was standing by his side and peering up at him with worried eyes. Fundy was ducked under a doorway a little ways back, glancing between him and his brothers, but tellingly the fox hybrid didn’t move to his father at all. “Maybe you should go home.” The woman suggested kindly, as if Techno was the one who needed to be comforted. But really, when he thought about it more… Arielle’s face flashed across his mind and it took all of his willpower to stop himself from marching to the stairs then and there. “I’ll-” Techno swallowed as his voice came out distinctly more gravelly and less human than he’d intended. “I’ll come back tomorrow. To help with the TNT.” Techno vowed and Niki nodded at him but didn’t say another word. In fact, no-one did and as he walked away, Techno couldn’t help but think the gap between him and the rest of the revolution (between him and his brothers-) might have just grown into a chasm that could no longer be traversed.

(A head of white hair tilted up as the feedback hit, glinting red eyes staring out of the window of his office. Pale skin twitched for the first time in years as its owner awoke from their forced slumber and a pleased but undeniably vicious smile curved their lips.

“Finally…” A man breathed.)

Chapter Text

Dream took in a deep, wobbling breath as he glanced covertly across the room, to where Arielle was seemingly engrossed in picking off all the tiny hairs from one of the new teddies Techno has sown for her. She now had a veritable mountain of plush toys on her bed, all either various shades of pink or fashioned into pigs, and the sheer ridiculousness of the sight within what was supposed to be an underground bunker never failed to bring a smirk of amusement to Dream’s face. However, not that day; instead of a smirk, his face was twisted into more of a grimace as he thought over the incredibly dangerous act he was about to undertake. ‘It’s only twenty minutes. I can do this; I’m a god for fucks sake!’ Said god hissed to himself mentally, but one glance at Arielle’s determined face, her little tongue poking out between her lips as she worked, had his confidence shrivelling like an overripe fig.

Dream centred himself with a grounding pinch to his leg before foraging himself to stand from the chair before he bailed again. “Ari!” He called, watching with amusement as the little girl’s head snapped up immediately, her large golden eyes (which only seemed to be growing more golden as the time passed, somehow) blinking at him curiously. “Huh?” She asked in her own way, causing Dream to smile; he could still remember when she would babble with nothing but baby sounds and hearing her speak (or try to speak) always brought a sort of warm pride rushing through his veins. “I- I have to head out for a bit, okay? You stay here and I’ll be back soon!” Dream called nervously, but Arielle just tilted her head at him before chirping in that strange, high pitched way she did before going right back to her toys. In response Dream just blinked before turning almost robotically to the water column, somewhat surprised that it had been that easy. ‘Oh fuck wait- the spell!’ Dream lurched out of the water column, grimacing at his wet hoodie, before clicking his fingers and smacking a palm against the wall. A golden glow diffused into the stone, giving it a strange sheen for a few moments before settling, and Dream nodded in satisfaction. “Bye Ari!” He called and a small little smile curled his lips when he heard an answering ‘buh-bye!’ as he disappeared up the tube.

Landing on the shore, Dream shook himself off and headed a couple hundred metres away before perching himself on the top-most branch of a large oak tree. “Right, let’s see the damage then.” He muttered to himself as he flicked his communicator on and pressed a single, glowing finger into the specially-made indent at the top. Immediately his communicator rippled with a golden glow and the screen glitched before abruptly settling into a perfect view of Arielle, sitting on her bed and still messing with her toys without a care in the world. “...Oh.” Dream murmured. “Well that’s surprisingly painless. I might even be able to get some work done.” The god flicked his wrist and a holographic screen popped up, filled with a static language that he seemed to be able to read effortlessly. “Right, off we go I guess.”

Arielle huffed and rolled over onto her back, her teddy rolling out of her grip and off the bed. All the fuzzy, scratchy hairs had been picked clean and now the little doll had become just as uninteresting as the rest of her toys. Grumbling to herself, Arielle levered herself upright before slipping off the bed, landing on the stone floor with barely a wobble. Grinning in elation at her success, Arielle toddled into the main room of her home, only to blink in surprise when utter silence and stillness greeted her. “...Papa?” She called, eyes narrowing as he took in the space. It was dark and dingy as usual, but she could see perfectly fine and only knew it was supposed to be dark because the above was so bright. Arielle smiled at the thought, dreams of those pretty winged fairies from so long ago dancing through her mind. But then the overwhelming silence stole her wavering attention once more and Arielle huffed out a deep breath. “Dee?!” She shouted, scrambling on top of one of the chests and peering behind it. She did the same for all the others, only to come to a huffing stop in the middle of the room, her Papa and her Dee seemingly nowhere to be found.

Arielle whimpered when a horrible, tight feeling rose in her chest, something she didn’t understand. It felt like something was gripping her heart and squeezing, causing the pressure behind her eyes to almost overflow into tears, but she didn’t know why. The little girl let out a frustrated grunt before her eyes landed on something that stole her attention instantly. Because sat on the tallest shelf of one of the bookshelves in the room, far away from her, was the cookie jar. Immediately Arielle’s weird feeling was forgotten in favour of her eyes lighting up with delight. She headed towards it immediately, only to freeze and glance around her as if her Papa or her Dee would jump around the corner to catch her. “Papa? Dee?” She called carefully, but instead of tears, this time the silence was exciting. Squealing in delight, Arielle scampered up to the bookshelf only to skid to a halt at the bottom. The shelf looked far smaller when she was further away, but standing at the bottom made it look like some kind of… mountain! Or giant! Then the little girl giggled at the silly thought of a giant fitting into her small home. 

Shaking her head, Arielle glared up at the cookie jar as if willing it to come floating down towards her. Of course it didn’t move and Arielle huffed in annoyance. Eyeing the shelves, Arielle gripped on one and tugged with all her strength, managing to hoist herself up to the second one. After that it was another reach and hoist and eventually Arielle found herself just one shelf away! But then the little girl made the mistake of looking down. She immediately squeaked and clung to the bookshelf as the ground below seemed to grow further and further away. Excitement gave way to terror and Arielle was frozen, unsure as to whether she should try and climb down or not. But that was so scary… Gritting her teeth, Arielle blinked the terrified tears from her eyes and reached up for the cookie jar, stretching her little fingers as far as they could go. She’d just managed to brush the jar, causing it to wobble, when something creaked on the shelf she was holding onto. The little girl only had a moment to freeze before, with a great crunching noise, her foothold vanished beneath her and she suddenly found herself falling. Arielle let out a short, sharp shriek that seemed to pulse from the back of her throat and suddenly, instead of falling down, she was flying sideways! Arielle choked on a yelp as she abruptly changed direction, soaring across the room. And then she was smacking into something far softer than the ground, which toppled over with a crash from her momentum.

Arielle stayed curled in a ball for several moments, only flinching once when the horrific sound of glass shattering echoed out. Only once everything calmed down did she brave a peek through her arms, eyeing the room that calm had finally settled over like a blanket. Gingerly uncurling, the little girl bit her lip and blinked her eyes to keep the tears at bay when she noticed the slight pulsing pain on the side of her arm, but rubbing the spot seemed to ease and she was determined not to cry! “M’not a baby.” She murmured to herself as she clambered from the collapsed sofa chair she’d miraculously landed in. Carefully she tiptoed across the floor to where the now-shattered cookie jar was spread across the floor, the cookies scattered among the glass. Thankfully Arielle’s sharp eyes could easily pick out the tiniest of glass pieces, sparkling in the candlelight like diamonds, and she almost danced her way between them with a foreign balance she didn’t realise she shouldn’t possess at such a young age. Grinning in triumph as she plucked a cookie from the wreckage and brushed it off carefully, Arielle stuck as much of it as she could in her mouth as she toddled out of the dangerously glass-filled zone, full of self-satisfaction at obtaining her prize-

“Ari?!” The little girl yelped and spun around as her Dee rocketed into the base, water flying everywhere from the speed of which he exited the drop chute. Arielle froze for a few moments, blinking at the man as he stared wild-eyed at her back, before abruptly the little girl was being swept off of her feet. She let out a muffled yelp around the cookie in her mouth before pulling half out, her Dee’s fussing going right over her head. “Ari, are you okay?! Why would you do that-” The man took a sudden, deep breath before his face twisted into a disappointed frown and Arielle winced. “That was very naughty of you, Ari. Never climb that again, do you understand?” He said gravely and the little girl felt tears prick at her eyes. A strange feeling welled up in her, something she’d later come to know as guilt, and she glanced down at her remaining half a prize with a nod. Then an idea came to her and she glanced between the cookie and her Dee with appraising eyes. “Cookie?” She offered, determined to make amends, and her Dee blinked at her several times before taking the half cookie with a smile.
“Thanks Ari.” He said and the little girl just beamed.

Two hours later, Techno glanced up from the book he was reading, ignoring Dream and Arielle who were playfully wrestling on the floor in the main room. The pinkett’s emotions were still roiling within him, begging for attention and trying to drag him into the deep pits of his own mind, but the little tinkling laughter of his daughter pushed the darkness away with more effectiveness than anything else. “Oi- Ari, you cheeky brat!” Dream laughed and Techno smiled when he spotted Arielle making off with his mask yet again, the prize of their wrestling matches. The little girl was surprisingly adept at avoiding Dream’s tickling hands and so far, the god hadn’t been able to defend his mask for more than five minutes and that time had only been shrinking. “No!” The little girl crowed, darting over to her father and beginning to clamber up his lap one-handed. The man’s smile widened as he helped scoop the child onto his lap, where she acted as if he were her personal throne with Dream’s mask clenched between her fingers.

Dream glanced between Arielle and her father before raising an amused and slightly intimidated eyebrow. “You’re rubbing off on her too much, Techno.” The man ribbed but Techno just rolled his eyes and pulled Arielle closer into his chest, his book forgotten on the side table.
“She is my daughter, Dream.” The man drawled and the god couldn’t help but think back to those early days, where the man was still toying between giving her up. Looking at them now, with Arielle perched on her father’s lap and the man smiling at her so softly, Dream was glad Techno hadn’t given her away to the Captain; it had been well worth it.

“Oh yeah- Dream, where’s the cookie jar gone?” Techno suddenly asked, only to raise an eyebrow when Arielle ducked her head with a sheepish giggle and Dream paled.
“Uh- let’s just say that when the Revolution happens, leave nothing tall and climbable in her room.” Dream intoned seriously, nodding at Arielle who was glancing between him and her father with a confused tilt to her head. Techno on the other hand, just glanced at his daughter before his expressions dropped and he pinned an exasperated glare on Dream. “She climbed the bookshelf?” He hissed and Dream nodded nervously. In response, Techno just tilted his head back and groaned.

Chapter Text

Techno huffed out a satisfied noise as he let his final armful of potions spill into a chest with delicate tinks. Shutting the lid, the man grinned at his handiwork. The whole underground bunker had been transformed in the last three months from a barren, stone hovel into a grand hall full of chests. Some were even overflowing with supplies and the room had a soft blue glow from the soul lanterns lighting up the space. Techno didn’t typically use them, since while he wasn’t deathly afraid of them like his full-blooded piglin relatives, they weren’t the most comfortable for him to handle. But for the ambiance, Techno could sacrifice a little comfort. ‘And it was well worth it.’ Techno whistled to himself with amusement. However, he jumped a moment later when an answering noise came from a little ways to the left, and Techno glanced over with an amused smirk to see Arielle peering at him from behind the entrance to her secret obsidian bunker. The corridor to it was at least five layers of obsidian thick, since Techno didn’t want anyone potentially hearing his daughter when she was in there, and  the inside was lined with soft woods so it wasn’t so dark. Lamps lined the ceiling to brighten the space up and Techno had been slowly moving all of Arielle’s things in there as the room was completed. It hadn’t taken long for the little girl to understand that this was now her room and she’d guarded it viciously ever since. ‘It’s probably a good thing Dream isn’t staying anymore.’ Techno thought with a wry grin. ‘He’d probably get mauled if he tried to go in there now.’

“I think we’re done, Arielle.” Techno announced and Arielle clapped happily with a laugh, her joy lighting up her face. “Well come on then, let’s go bully Dream into celebrating with us.” Techno smirked and Arielle cheered as she rushed from her den.
“Cake?!” The little girl squealed as Techno lifted her into his arms and he grimaced slightly as her voice rang through his ears. Somehow, even if she didn’t mean to, her voice seemed to carry far better than anyone else he’d ever heard and it resulted in her louder noises being rather ear piercing. “Maybe, if you’re good.” Techno bargained and grinned at the forced innocent look the little girl’s face immediately rearranged itself into.
“M’ always good.” She protested and Techno snorted.
“Of course you are.” He drawled, but by the bright smile on her face he assumed that she might be a little too young to understand sarcasm just yet. 

Techno pushed Arielle over the lip of the ladder and she immediately scrambled to her feet and darted off, screaming cake as she went. Techno clambered up the hole a moment later, flicking the lever to close the hole just as he heard Dream grunt and break into breathless laughter. Grinning, Techno wandered into the ‘living room’ of his base to see Dream sat on the floor with Arielle wrapped around his chest like a koala and chattering a mile a minute in his ear. The god’s communicator was discarded to the side, as if Arielle had knocked it clean from his hands, and there was a slight shimmer to the gold lines streaking across his face to show that he’d probably been doing some godly maintenance, or whatever he did to keep the world stable, before Arielle had thoroughly derailed him.

In fact, now that Techno thought about it, Dream had been delving more and more into his magic ever since his visit to Schlatt, almost obsessing over whatever he was trying to do. It would have been unnerving to Techno if he didn’t understand, but he’d grown up with a father who married the Goddess of Death, and had lived alongside her two children as his brothers, and so he knew all about the gods’ tendencies to fixate rather heavily on whatever caught their attention. He was the same way sometimes, although it hadn’t been obvious until Arielle had been literally dropped into his life, and he wholeheartedly blamed his family for that.

“What’s this about cake?” Dream suddenly piped up and raised an amused eyebrow at Techno, who just snorted as he headed further into the room.
“I was good, Papa! Cake!” Arielle demanded, but Techno just raised an eyebrow in an unknowing mimicry of Dream.
“And what do you say for it?” The piglin prompted and Arielle grinned sheepishly.
“Please?” As if that was the answer, Dream lunged across the floor and yanked a black box towards him, which he opened with a dramatic flourish. Arielle peered in and immediately gasped and Techno grinned at the pure happiness on her face as Dream helped her transfer the small cake to a plate for her. The little girl barely waited for a spoon before attacking the cake like a wild animal and both men shared amused grins at the sight. Ever since her birthday almost half a year ago, the little girl had been obsessed with Bad’s cakes and so while the demon had been growing increasingly confused and yet still delighted by Dream’s continuous cake orders, Arielle had been devouring them regularly. Usually she only got one every other week, and they were small enough that Techno didn’t need to worry about them having a negative effect on her health, but with the Revolution looming in little under a month, both men decided if there was ever a time to spoil the little girl who had captured their hearts, it would be then.

Dream glanced up at Techno and his expression grew a little more serious. “All done then?” He asked and Techno nodded gravely.
“Yep. I just need to get a little more netherite to complete the armour sets and then we’ll be good to go.” Techno intoned and Dream sighed in relief.
“Good, good…” A comfortable silence fell for a few moments, only interrupted by Arielle’s delighted noises as she licked chocolate off of her fingers. She’d somehow managed to get what looked like half of the icing smeared around her face and she seemed inordinately concentrated in trying to lick it all off, resulting in several rather hilarious faces as she tilted her head back and forth, as if the movement would help her tongue reach further.

Techno watched Dream as the god snorted at Arielle before grabbing a nearby rag to try and wipe the chocolate off. However, the little girl protested that vehemently and Techno winced as she let out a shriek of pure annoyance. “No! My choc’late!” Arielle whined and all but toppled on her back in an effort to lean out of the way of Dream.
“C’mon Ari, it’s all over you!” Dream chuckled, trying to sound firm but the amused grin spreading across his face betrayed him. The little girl just huffed at him in a way that made Techno’s instincts sit up and take notice, and he snorted instinctively in response. Arielle’s head whipped around to face him and she whined pleadingly, getting a raised eyebrow back from her father. “Leave her alone, Dream. She’ll get it all herself eventually.” Techno drawled and while Dream rolled his eyes, Arielle cheered in success. She yanked her remaining cake into her arms and darted off to her bed on the other side of the room, shooting distrustful looks back at Dream, and the god just grinned mischievously back.

“She’s so cute.” Dream muttered with a smile on his face and Techno hummed in agreement. The warrior couldn’t believe how much had changed in the last year, where he’d gone from a lone wolf to a father with a friend he didn’t think he’d ever have. And yes, he wasn’t so deep into his denial to try and claim that Dream wasn’t a friend. At the beginning, maybe he could have, but the god had stuck with him for a year, helping to raise Arielle alongside him, and Techno always knew his fatal flaw was his loyalty. It was hard to gain but ironclad when someone did deserve it and Techno knew that Dream would hold it now until the day he died. ‘Well, as long as he didn’t attack Arielle, that is.’ His mind whispered, Chat crowing in agreement in his mind with the slightly violent turn his thoughts had taken. ‘And talking about violence…’

Techno narrowed his eyes at Dream, who seemed oblivious to his severe expression. “Dream, are you prepared to deal with Schlatt?” Techno asked and Dream tensed like he’d been electrocuted.
“What- of course? I’ve had my armour ready before you, you know that.” Dream answered with a faux confused tone, but Techno could see right through him. The god was… unnerved by Schlatt and it was obvious by the way he avoided talking about him at all. Techno had no clue what the tyrannical man had done that had rattled Dream so badly, but oh did it make the piglin want to go and rip the coward’s throat out. ‘Mutton isn’t as tender but I’m sure it’d make a great stew.’ Techno’s thoughts snarled and Chat exploded into bloodthirsty jeers in response.

“And how long do you plan to draw the fight out?” Techno asked and Dream huffed, tilting his head to the side and relaxing as Schlatt’s name disappeared from the conversation.
“Probably not long; I don’t want to actually injure any of you, but I can’t be too obvious about it.” Dream explained and Techno hummed.
“You could surrender the moment we manage to break into Manberg.” Techno offered and Dream raised a sceptical eyebrow that sent Techno’s pride into a flurry. “Don’t look at me like that, we will get it. You know we will.” Techno drawled with a slight bite under his tone, but Dream just grinned teasingly at him.
“Sure, sure.” The god waved him off and Techno couldn’t help his eyebrow from twitching. After spending so long together they knew each other’s ticks almost instinctively now, but Techno wasn’t so insecure to admit that Dream knew a lot more ways to piss him off than Techno did for the god.

“What if I corner myself on purpose?” Dream carried on, quickly derailing Techno’s ire. “If I back us all into a place you guys can surround us then it would be the best way to get us to ‘surrender’.” Dream quoted with his fingers around the word surrender and Techno’s brows furrowed at the admittedly good idea.
“That would work. You’d need to make it look natural though.” Dream just scoffed but Techno pressed on. “I knew that Schlatt wouldn’t notice, but you’re fighting with those buddies of yours right? They probably would.” Techno explained, but instead of the agreement he’d been expecting, Dream’s face grew cold with a bitter undertone that the warrior didn’t even think Dream realised was there.
“If George shows up it’ll be a miracle. And anyway, I haven’t spoken to them in… a while.” Dream admitted and Techno’s eyebrows raised. He’d always seen the trio of them from afar or during the few events they attended at Hypixel several years ago, and had been rather jealous of their closeness. It was a bond that Techno had once shared with his brothers and he’d craved that kind of connection like a drowning man craves air. But now, judging by the way Dream’s shoulders were stooped under an invisible weight, Techno mused that they might not have had such a close bond after all.

“But yeah, I’ll keep that in mind.” Dream finished, clearing his throat. Techno watched as the man almost seem to force his attention back to Arielle, which was made easier when the little girl suddenly waved the empty paper plate above her head and crowed that she’d finished. Dream’s anxious expression was wiped away in an instant, but Techno’s dread only grew. Seeing Dream’s collapsing relationship between his friends just reminded Techno of his own family, which was growing more estranged by the day, and he just hoped that whatever happened, it didn’t shatter their bonds completely.

Chapter Text

Dream kept his face carefully impassive as he stood in the centre of Schlatt’s ‘grand’ hall. It might have been grand, when it was first built a year ago, but the state of it now just highlighted the way the tyrant’s campaign was crumbling down around his ears. The previously pristine white walls were faded and chipped, with some parts broken completely to reveal the drab grey stone beneath. Two of the columns holding up the ceiling didn’t look structurally sound anymore and there was a shaft of sunlight beaming in through a hole in the ceiling. Most of the lights were intact, but the several around where Schlatt’s head chair was located had seemingly been smashed. The chair was cast into shadows as a result, which made the whole tableau look far more intimidating than it should have been. And taking centre stage was the man himself, slouched carelessly in his crumbling throne surrounded by his toppling kingdom.

“I assume everything is well in hand then?” The man drawled and Dream felt Sapnap shiver at his back. However, while there was no physical distance between the two friends, Dream could feel the gaping chasm opening up between the two of them the more time passed. When they’d met up, Dream had noticed immediately the blaze hybrid’s reluctance in getting near him or interacting, with his smiles strained and movements hesitant. It had soured their greetings considerably but Dream had forged forwards; he’d had ample practice in pretending, after all.

“It is.” Dream answered, clipped in tone and getting a sharp look from Schlatt. “Is it just you lot then?” The man snorted and raised a condescending eyebrow, but while his companions shifted slightly, Dream didn’t even react.
“We’re enough.” Dream said simply and Schlatt just sighed patronisingly and slumped lower into his chair. The god couldn’t help but compare the man to a spoiled child not getting his way, but instead of throwing a tantrum and maybe destroying a window or something equally as replaceable, he decided to destroy literal lives instead. The god couldn’t help but let his mind drift back to Arielle and he had to smother the flames of rage in his chest at the offhand thought of what Schlatt would do if he found out about her. Him already having an inkling was bad enough. ‘He won’t live past this. I’ll make sure of it.’ Dream vowed, not even noticing the way Sapnap flinched away from him and Punz shot him an alarmed look. He didn’t notice how Schlatt straightened a little at the bloodlust emanating from the god, but the sharp glint in the tyrant’s eyes seemed far too alien and other for his mortal status.

“Fine. You’re dismissed.” Schlatt waved a lazy hand and the three soldiers turned to leave. “Dream, wait a moment.” The god froze on the spot, getting a quick look back from Punz that held an entire conversation. Dream nodded discretely and Punz held his gaze for a moment longer before leaving, but the god couldn’t help the slight flash of hurt that lanced through his chest when he realised Sapnap hadn’t even looked at him before all but fleeing the room.

Turning around, Dream eyed Schlatt speculatively as the man smirked. “I take it you don’t hold any lingering… attachments, shall we say, to those ravine-dwelling rats?” Schlatt sneered and Dream felt his expression splinter behind his mask.
“Only if you don’t have any delusions of going back on your word? I’ve heard that it’s something you… struggle with.” Dream drawled back, voice carefully blank but undercut by a very clear threat. Schlatt’s face dropped so quickly it was as if his mocking grin was never there and his eyes seemed to darken into a pitch that sent the hairs on the back of Dream’s neck standing on end. “Who do you take me for, Dream? I’m a man of my word! And anyway, I never explicitly told you-” Schlatt started to mock but Dream only had to take a single, forceful step forward to silence him completely. The air in the room suddenly stilled, as if the world was holding its breath, and the shadows distorted Dream’s smiling mask into a far more threatening snarl. “Don’t test me, mortal.” Dream rumbled, his voice sounding no different than before. However, it was the weight behind his words, as if the sky itself was pressing down against them, that had Schlatt’s eyes widening in primal fear. He said nothing, only watching as Dream spun on his heel and stalked from the room, and it took a good few minutes for the man to calm down enough to stop trembling.

And then it happened. Darkness seemed to leech from the shadows and stain against Schlatt’s skin, the whites of his eyes disappearing into the all-consuming black void his pupils had become. “Hmm.” A foreign voice rumbled out from his throat, as quiet as a mouse but forceful enough to make the walls tremble. “Not long now, little dreamer.” Schlatt said again, his face contorting into a completely impossibly wide grin for his face. Shadows seemed to drip from the expression and in his pocket, the tiny black book pulsed.

“I can’t wait.”

Dream breathed a sigh of relief and paused before exiting the white house in order to give himself a chance to calm down. He hadn’t lost his temper like that in a long while and it had jarred something in his mind that he didn’t like to think about. Even his anger over Arielle’s treatment back in the now-razed village hadn’t caused his control to slip so badly and Dream had to thank his scraps of self control in keeping him from bringing the whole sky down on them. “That was close…” He murmured as he pushed open the ridiculously large oak doors into the building.

The sunlight was beaming down on them outside, causing the whole white building to gleam uncomfortably brightly across the ramshackle town that surrounded it. It was a sight for sore eyes, especially compared to the lively little hamlet it had been under Wilbur and Tommy’s control. Sure, Dream hadn’t been too pleased about his authority being usurped in such a public way, but he’d gotten over it when he’d had a chance to think about it. He’d quickly realised that actually, his people splitting off on their own was what he’d been needing for a good long while now, since while he was the god of the world, he was still only one person; trying to govern his rapidly growing world on his own would be a fool’s trial. However, Dream also knew how disastrous it would be to have random factions popping up all over the place that didn’t have the strength necessary to lead properly. So, he’d tested them. He’d set up the war, only letting George and Sapnap in on his real intentions, and much to the god’s relief Tommy and Wilbur had passed with flying colours. So, he’d given them their independence and taken a long, relieving break. 

And then the god had come back to Tommy and Wilbur’s exile from the kingdom they were building after Schlatt took over and threw the carefully crafted peace on its head.

Sighing in annoyance, Dream squinted against the sun and quickly spotted Punz lurking in the shadows of an alley like some kind of vagrant. Huffing in amusement, Dream headed over and the mercenary’s head snapped up the moment the god’s approach became audible. “Dream.” Punz greeted and the god nodded back. “Our deal?” Punz got straight to the point but Dream didn’t bother teasing them about it; if helping Techno raise Arielle had taught him anything, it was not to mess around with the safety of someone’s family.
“Send him to Pogtopia. Tell him to stick by Techno-” Dream paused as Punz’s eyebrows raised in surprise and the god sighed. “Yes I know, he's not the first thought, but I know him the best. He’ll take care of him.” Dream swore and Punz watched him carefully. His blue eyes drilled through Dream’s mask, as if they could see right underneath it, before he slowly nodded. “I’ll hold you to that.” Punz intoned gravely and Dream nodded in agreement of the pact while feverently hoping that Techno did in fact take Purpled under his wing when he showed up; Dream didn’t fancy being hunted down by Punz if their younger brother was hurt under his ‘care’. Thankfully the god had a decent idea that it would be fine, especially since Techno seemed to be adopting the kids left and right. ‘Not that he’s realised it yet.’ The god smirked at the thought.

“Tell Techno he’ll expect him tomorrow.” Punz stated and Dream nodded. They didn’t say anything else before parting ways, but they didn’t need to; Punz was one of the few who seemed to just get Dream, just like Techno. Sighing, Dream made a beeline for the gate out of the crumbling town just as Punz disappeared like a spectre into the grungy streets. ‘This fucking war can’t be over soon enough.’ Dream thought with a huff, not noticing the way the shadows seemed to sway and track him as he left.

Philza gasped the moment his hand touched his son’s latest letter, the darkness covering the parchment smothering his finger like a thick, viscous oil. He yelped as it burned him, eating away at his flesh before a hurried flash of his ladies’ energy wiped it away. He could feel her faintly in the back of his mind, more present than she usually was, and the worry that was permeating through their link made a small smile creep onto his face. “I’m fine, I’m fine.” He reassured, before his gaze caught on the deceptively innocent letter and his face twisted into a disgusted scowl. One of his crows flew up and landed on his shoulder with an enraged squawk and Phil absently lifted his uninjured hand to stroke down the bird’s back.

Phil crouched down by the parchment and eyed it, looking for any kind of malicious intent or tampering. His son wouldn’t hurt him like that, even if they weren’t quite as close as they’d been when he was a child, but that didn’t mean Phil didn’t have his own plethora of enemies. It had happened before from one of Techno’s letters that someone had intercepted and turned into some kind of bomb, but thankfully it had destabilised while Phil was out and so while he’d returned to a wrecked house, he’d been perfectly fine. However, it had never happened with Wil’s letters before and Phil’s scowl deepened when he realised the letter seemed… fine. It was untouched, still carrying traces of Wil’s unique energy (that came from being the mortal son of a literal goddess and her angel) but there was nothing else there to suggest any tampering. It was as if the letter had been tainted while- 

Phil’s eyes widened and he shot up, his wings instinctively flaring out with his panic and knocking a few books off the edge of his desk. “Fuck mate, what have you gotten into?!” Phil swore as he darted out of his study and up the stairs of his home, taking them three at a time. The crows gathering in the kitchen all chittered at him as he ran past, watching him curiously, before the man felt them begin to follow him as he dashed like a madman around the house. He gathered his supplies in record time, stuffing them inside of his well-worn travel bag, but his mind was racing as his body moved on autopilot. The only way for that letter to have become so utterly drenched with corruption strong enough to burn him was if it had been infused into the paper. So somehow, Wil’s surroundings had been tainted enough to seep into the paper as it was created, or potentially while he was writing the letter itself. The amount of darkness radiating from that letter meant Wil must have been near drowning in it and Phil cursed his own weakness when it came to his son. He’d never forced Wilbur to learn to use the few abilities he’d been born with, as the boy had never been interested in it; he much preferred his music to learning about the more mystical ways of the world. But that meant there was no way he’d be able to recognise the corruption around him and so the danger he must have been in when writing it, and probably was still in-

Phil skidded to a stop at the top of the stairs, almost tumbling right down them as he threw his pack over his shoulder so it rested against his hip and the strap slotted comfortably between his wings. Kristen was a buzzing presence in the back of his mind and if Phil cared to look, he would have seen his wings shimmering with power as the woman bolstered him. Her own panic was leaking through as well, but there was a tendril of rage snaking through the connection that had Phil gritting his teeth as he burst from his home and launched himself into the sky. ‘I’m coming, Wil.’ Phil’s mind settled into determination as he pushed his wings onwards, soaring through the sky so fast that his crows could barely keep up. ‘Just hold on for me. I’m coming.’

Chapter Text

Techno heaved out a shaky sigh as he stared at the message blaring at him from his communicator. He knew it was coming; according to Dream the tension within Manberg had been building steadily for the last few days and so the warrior was already well prepared. Not even the sudden arrival of Purpled, who had joined Fundy in sticking to Techno’s side in Pogtopia like skittish ducklings, had prevented the man from preparing as best as he could. Although, Techno could admit that having to gather three full netherite sets for himself and the two kids who seemed to have attached themselves to him was marginally harder than just preparing one. However, even though he’d been expecting it- as they all had -when the piglin hybrid glanced at Arielle, who was giggling on her bed with one of her plushies without a care in the world, Techno couldn’t help but wish he’d been given more time. And if Dream’s troubled expression and coiled muscles from the other side of the room was anything to go off of as the god stared at his own communicator, he was thinking the same thing. 

“Well shit.” The god muttered and Techno didn’t even bother to scold him for it like he normally would when Arielle was in the room. The girl in question snapped her head up, butterfly ears flicking as her face twisted into a confused frown. “Dee?” She asked as her forgotten teddy tumbled to her side and the god shot her a strained smile.
“It’s fine, Ari. Your Papa and I have to go out for a bit though, okay?” Dream explained, but Arielle’s expression just grew more grave as the girl saw right through the god’s expression. Glancing between her father (who was rubbing the bridge of his nose with dread written across his face) and Dee, she shimmied off of her bed and toddled over to her father. “Papa okay?” She asked, quieter than she normally would. Accepting the invitation for what it was, Techno swept his daughter into his arms and uncharacteristically clung to her. The girl only seemed more worried, obviously picking up on something being wrong, but she just hugged her father back as best as she could.

Techno didn’t really understand why he was feeling this way; he usually revelled in a fight and the chaos that came with it, but something about this damn Revolution was causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He’d never shied away from a fight before and didn’t intend to start now, but the fact that he wanted to for the first time since he was a fresh-faced warrior just starting out in Hypixel was so confusing to the proud piglin. It was as if his focus had shifted so completely that the upcoming war seemed like the greatest of nuisances rather than the fun challenge he’d seen it as only a year before. The man knew why it had changed so drastically; the fact that Arielle’s presence in his arms was helping to soothe him made that very clear. But yet again, he didn’t understand why. He’d always grown up knowing that he was most likely a piglin brute hybrid; his fighting prowess had seemingly made that obvious and even Phil, who seemed to have some superhuman ability to determine hybrids, had agreed with him. Or, he’d thought it had been obvious. The problem was piglin brutes were not parents. They were protective of their sounder but had no caring instincts at all and so when Techno had felt himself growing attached to his family and later Arielle and even Dream, he’d chalked it up to his human half pushing those bonds. But with his instincts screaming in his mind to protect his sounder, his piglet, their loudness almost drowning out the howling of Chat who were itching for a fight, Techno realised he’d need to reconsider.

Sighing explosively, Techno didn’t let Arielle go as he headed into the back room towards the bunker they’d had prepared for several weeks now. ‘What a time for that realisation.’ The piglin hybrid grumbled in his mind, hopping effortlessly down the shaft while protecting Arielle from the jolt of their landing. He didn’t bother to check if Dream was following him; the echoing splash of the god landing behind him made that clear. Instead, Techno just beelined it towards the obsidian lined room they’d set up for Arielle. Stepping inside, the warrior gently placed Arielle down on the small bed they’d set up there before heading to the other side of the room to rummage through the singular chest they’d put in there. It contained almost all of Techno’s valuables, since while he was working with Pogtopia, he didn’t trust most of their members to not stab him in the back after the war was over.

Just as he pulled a piece of netherite chain mail from the chest, far too small for himself, the man heard Arielle hissing behind him and he spun around. Much to his amusement, the girl was glaring at Dream as he edged his way into the room, his hands up in surrender with a wide-eyed look on his face. “It’s okay Ari, I’m not going to touch anything.” The man stuttered and Techno smirked. His daughter had clearly claimed the little room as her first territory, much to Techno’s pride. However, the man also knew how much of a handful he’d been when he’d first settled into his room in Phil’s home as a child; his brothers learnt quickly to not enter his room without his permission. ‘Pretty sure Wilbur still has the scar from that fight.’ The man couldn’t help but reminisce fondly.

Thankfully when Techno crouched back down into front of his daughter, he drew her attention and Dream managed to slip the rest of the way into the secure room with a sigh of relief. Smothering the urge to laugh at him, Techno gently slipped the chain mail over his daughter’s head, ignoring her little grunts of annoyance. “I know, I know. But this will protect you.” He explained and watched with a tiny grin as Arielle fiddled with the shirt with wide, curious eyes. It had taken the man a full week to weave the entire shirt, purely because working with netherite was an absolute nightmare when trying to mould it into such a tiny shape. A full chestplate would have been easier, but Arielle was far too young for that kind of weight; she wouldn’t have been able to move at all. It was why he’d only made a chestplate, since a full set of netherite chainmail would have had the same problem, even without the issue of fitting a helmet over Arielle’s unique and delicate ears. 

“Now Arielle, listen to me.” Techno started and without meaning to, a little grumble of authority slipped into his voice. In response Arielle’s head snapped up and her gaze locked onto her father with a single-minded laser intensity that made the man smile slightly. “You cannot take this off. Okay?” Techno stressed and Arielle nodded, not even questioning it. “Also when we leave, you have to be very very quiet. You’ll probably hear people talking outside, but you can’t make a sound, okay?” Techno explained, but this time Arielle’s head tilted to the side with a confused frown spreading across her face.
“Think of it as hide and seek, Arielle. You’re hiding from everyone else so they can’t know you’re there.” Dream piped up and Techno shot him a grateful look at Arielle perked up with a sparkle in her golden eyes.
“Like a game?!” She squeaked and both men grinned at her.
“Exactly. So when we leave, you can’t make any noise until we come and get you, and if no-one else finds you then you win.” Techno continued and Arielle grinned cheekily.
“I best at hidin’!” The little girl exclaimed and Techno breathed a sigh of relief once that problem was dealt with. 

Pausing for a moment, Techno wavered with himself before leaning forward and enveloping his daughter in a final hug. The little girl squeaked in confusion but soon melted into the hug with a little happy whine as she buried her face in her shoulder. “Be good, Arielle.” Techno murmured and Arielle nodded against him before he eventually pulled back. The warrior caught Dream watching them with a soft expression on his face, but he wiped it away just as quickly and Techno didn’t bother to bring attention to it; he knew the god would clam up if he did, after all. “Right, let’s go.” Techno murmured at Dream before stalking from the room before his heart managed to convince his mind that it was better to stay. The god waved jauntily at Arielle before following him, but if the tight set to his shoulders was anything to go by, the man was feeling just as conflicted as Techno was.

Neither man said anything as they hid the small entrance away before leaving the bunker and eventually the entire base itself. It was only when they were clambering from the river and Dream was magically drying them that the silence broke. “This isn’t a good idea.” Dream muttered as he waited for Techno to finish checking his pack. The piglin in question snorted, but the resigned tilt to his eyebrows said it all. “I know.” He replied, meeting Dream’s eyes just before the god slipped his mask back on and secured it. “But we have no choice.”

Phil panted as he all but crashed to the ground, trying to keep his balance despite his shoulders and back muscles screaming at him. “I think we’re close.” The man managed to choke out through his breathlessness as he listed to the side and let himself rest against a nearby oak tree. His murder was equally as tired, most of them perching above him with caws of relief while a few simply collapsed on the ground and breathed. Phil couldn’t even tell how long they’d been flying, but evidently the world his sons were living in now was significantly further away than he’d thought. The only reason he’d even managed to make it so far already was his lady’s presence burning through his body like the greatest of drugs. But like any boost, the power of a god was a double edged sword, even for their chosen, and Phil found his strength waning to the point where he’d barely been able to stick his rather uncontrolled landing.

However, the pain had been worth it. Once the blonde caught his breath, he stumbled forward and shoved his way through the last bit of brushland of the forest and came face to face with a glowing blue wall of energy. Its power was so great that the air itself around it hummed like an approaching thunderstorm and Phil whistled appreciatively at the sheer energy of the world border. “Wow. This god sure is something. That’s one hell of a border.” The man murmured to himself. His murder quickly caught up to him, but only the bravest dared to get close enough to the glowing barrier to perch on the man’s shoulders and head. Phil didn’t blame them; one touch with that border and anyone unwelcome would probably be atomised within moments. His lady hummed in agreement in the back of his mind, an impression of recognition that flowed into him, and no words needed to be exchanged for Phil to know that his lady seemed to know of the god who’d created this world. “Well, that makes it a little easier.” Phil muttered, knowing that his lady wouldn’t have associated with any tyrannical gods. In fact, his lady had been on the side of the ‘light’, as she’d put it, during the heavenly civil war all those thousands of years ago, and judging by the peace she was sending through their link, this unknown god most likely was as well.

Phil sighed and plopped down on the ground, letting his wings splay out behind him as he got comfortable. “Hopefully this guy doesn’t get too mad with me breaking in.” Phil chirped and smirked at the amused fondness he got back from his lady. Bringing up his communicator, Phil felt his lady’s power drape over his shoulders like a well-loved cloak and the avian hybrid grinned. “Time for some little ol’ breaking and entering!” He chortled. “Tommy would be so proud.”

What Phil didn’t know was that the moment his power made contact with the barrier, Dream jerked to attention and almost fell over from where he was darting through the forest to Manberg. However, the moment he recognised the power trying to force its way into his world his worried expression melted into a savage grin. “Well hello there, Kristin.” He murmured before continuing on his way, his apprehension replaced by anticipation.

(And deep beneath his world, where something dark had unknowingly taken root and had begun to fester, an entity sneered in annoyance at its plans being foiled. Instead of beginning to spread, it decided to return to its slumber until the threat entering the world it had chosen as its prey had finally been neutralised.)

Chapter Text

Techno already felt a headache coming on the moment he began descending the stairs into Pogtopia. The shouting from below was echoing up the walls and sending a horrible ringing spearing through his ears and Techno huffed out an irritated breath. His armour was heavy on his frame, although not unwelcome, and the piglin hybrid let a hand drift to his waist to check that his sword was attached. Normally those kinds of paranoid actions wouldn’t be needed for him; it had been a long time since he wasn’t confident going into a fight. But with the knowledge of Arielle alone in the back of his mind, plus the almost world-shattering revelations he’d been having over the last few months, Techno couldn’t help but give in a little to the anxiety clawing at his chest.

“-not prepared! Some of us don’t even have full diamond, for fucks sake!” Tommy’s voice, as per usual, was the loudest in the room, but Techno’s eyebrow raised when he realised the boy had a point. Of course, the warrior had already solved that problem over the last month or so of grinding, so the worry was a moot point, but Techno found himself reluctantly impressed by the thought. “We’re fine, Tommy! Just shut up!” Wilbur screamed a moment later, evidently losing his rather meagre patience, and Techno grimaced.
“What the hell’s going on in here?” The man rumbled, breaking up the little gathering in front of him immediately. Tommy and Wilbur jerked back from where they’d been in each other's faces and Techno forced down the little sliver of guilt when Wilbur’s eyes flashed with momentary fear. Everyone else who’d been crowded around them stumbled back, Techno managing to spot Tommy yanking his arm from Niki’s grip, but the woman just shot a relieved expression at the hybrid, who wasn’t entirely sure what he’d done to deserve it. A quick glance around showed Quackity rapidly retreating to the back of the group, although he wasn't nearly as sneaky about it as he probably thought he was, and Fundy and Purpled were creeping around the edge of the gaggle together to head towards Techno.

“Techno!” Niki called as the hybrid approached, a tone of exhaustion in her voice that almost made Techno wince. The bags were dark under her eyes, although everyone else seemed to be faring along the same lines, but it was the way everyone was dressed that had the piglin’s chest tightening. Tommy was comparatively the best off, being decked out in almost full netherite armour with only a diamond helmet ruining the image. Purpled also seemed to have some decent protection with a well crafted netherite chestplate, but if the hastily added straps and its slightly bulky-looking size was anything to go by, Techno assumed that the armour was probably one of his brother’s old gear pieces and wasn’t suited for the younger boy’s slighter frame. Everyone else however… Techno winced. Only Fundy and Tubbo had any netherite, a pair of boots and leggings respectively, but it looked chipped, worn, and poorly smithed in a way that was making Techno’s instincts cringe. Everyone else had a hodge-podge mixture of diamond and iron, all worn and almost falling apart in places, and Wilbur didn’t seem to have any armour on at all. ‘This would have been a disaster without me here.’ Techno thought and for once, the thought of being the most important person in the group only made his anxiety spike even more.

“Look.” Tommy finally spoke up, shooting a suspicious glance at Techno who pretended that it didn’t cut right down to the bone. “We all need to-” But then he was interrupted, as suddenly a commotion from above them stole the whole group’s attention.
“-you fucking spy-!”
“No that’s not-”
“-asshole, coming in here-”
“Quackity-!”
“-after what you did!” Techno’s eyebrow raised as two people all but fell down the stairs of the ravine. One was clearly Quackity, whose face was twisted in rage, but the other person he was grappling with was someone Techno only vaguely remembered. But if the way Tommy tensed like a stretched bowstring and Wilbur paled to a ghostly pallor was anything to go by, then his brothers knew him very well.

 “Well well well…” Wilbur drawled, cutting off the muffled curses from Quackity and the grunts from the second person. Both of them froze like a deer under lamplight, the unknown person blinking at the gathered group before he almost tried to shrink back. “Uh- Hi guys…” They murmured and Techno noted that their voice was surprisingly deep for their lanky frame. Wilbur sauntered forward and Techno shot a confused look at Tommy, who seemed to be trembling from head to toe, but with the boy turned away from him, Techno had no idea if it was from fear or some kind of apocalyptic rage. “What do we have here, then? The traitor’s come running back with their tail between their legs?” Wilbur taunted, although there was something brittle and dark beneath his tone. The other person, who’d finally been released from Quackity’s merciless grip, obviously heard it too if the way he winced was any indication. “Wil-” They tried, but suddenly Wilbur was there, in their face, and the person flinched back with an aborted gasp. Even Quackity jumped and Techno shifted his feet slightly so he was ready to spring forward if his brother’s rather… unhinged tendencies came out to play. “You don’t get to call me that, Eret.” Wilbur hissed like a deranged cat and Techno frowned. He recognised that name from one of the rants he’d half-heartedly listened to from Tommy, before the festival happened and Arielle happened and everything spiralled out of control. However, all he remembered was a bunker and some kind of betrayal, but the second half of that was evident from the way nearly everyone was pinning Eret with some variation of suspicion in their gazes.

“Please- Wil, I want to help. ” Eret pleaded, steeling himself and standing up straight from where he’d been slouching almost submissively before. He actually had a few inches on Wilbur, who seemed to struggle to hold himself to his full height nowadays, and Techno spotted a gleam of familiar desperation in his eyes. Wilbur seemed to see it too, but as the silence dragged on, Techno let his hand rest on the hilt of his sword. “I- I want to make it right, Wilbur. I want to make up for what I did when I was an idiot and- and scared and- I should never have done that and I’m sorry!” Eret seemed to blurt out all at once, stumbling over his words and almost spitting them out with how quickly he spoke. Everyone seemed to hold their breath for a moment before Wilbur seemed to deflate, although by the tenseness to his shoulders that Techno had learnt to read, the man wasn’t exactly happy about it. “Fine!” Wilbur spat, turning on his heel and spinning to stalk to the other end of the group. “Fine. You can help.” And then suddenly, Wilbur spun around again, almost giving everyone whiplash, before jabbing a finger at Eret.
“But if you ever think about betraying us again-”
“I won’t.” Eret interrupted. “I swear.”

An awkward silence fell for a few more moments as WIlbur huffed and took his place back in the little ragtag ring of his rebels. Tommy was biting his lip so hard it almost looked like his teeth would go right through them, but he didn’t protest much to Techno’s bewilderment. Only a few days ago, the blonde would have blown up at Wilbur and Techno felt a thin tendril of worry curl in his gut. ‘What did Will do now?’
“Anyway.” Tommy finally ground out, taking a deep breath and letting it out in one explosive exhale. “We need to pool our resources, guys. We don’t have enough here for everyone. Not for a war.” The boy explained and everyone winced and glanced around with shifty eyes when they realised he was wrong. “We don’t have enough of anything. So if anyone has some kind of last minute ass pull to save us, that’d be great right about now!” Tommy continued with a hint of hysteria to his voice that made him seem far too much like Wilbur for Techno’s comfort. Niki’s face crumpled and Techno could guess at the cause, seeing as a sixteen year old boy like Tommy shouldn’t know how to prepare for a war. But that just made it all the more important for Techno when he stepped forward and caught everyone’s attention. He let a dangerous looking grin slip onto his face to hide his apprehension and he couldn’t help the small shiver of amusement when Quackity flinched. “Well then.” Techno almost purred. “I think I can help with that.”

Dream kept his face entirely blank as he hefted his newly patterned shield into one arm. His friends did the same, Punz directly to his left while Sapnap was a little further back. The room they’d been stuck in for the last hour or so had been relatively stocked with supplies, but Dream found himself thankful that he’d had the foresight to bring some backup gear for Sapnap. The enchantments on Schlatt’s armour was atrocious and while Dream didn’t want to kill any of the Pogtopians (hence why he’d left thorns off of the armour), he didn’t exactly want Sapnap or Punz dying on him either. Dream knew that Punz had his own set, but Dream couldn’t be sure with Sapnap so he’d brought extra. And if by the appreciative little whistle Sapnap had let slip when he’d first seen their armour, the man certainly liked his new gear.

“Everyone good to go?” Dream suddenly piped up as he tightened the final straps over his shoulders. Punz nodded, having finished putting his armour on in record time. Sapnap was still fighting with his boots and Dream rolled his eyes before crouching down next to him. The blaze hybrid had always had a hell of a time with the still, metal-twined laces of armoured boots (something about ‘not having fingers made for anything other than setting shit on fire’) and so it was almost second nature for Dream to playfully slap the man’s hands away and take over.
“Honestly, Pandas, you’re-” But then Dream paused, as for the first time, Sapnap flinched away from him. Glancing up, Dream stared at Sapnap who tensed when he noticed his gaze, even with the mask hiding the god’s face. A tense silence fell for a few moments before Dream shrugged it off using sheer willpower. “Someone’s jumpy.” Dream offered, as if pleading Sapnap to play along, and thankfully the man huffed out a laugh that was just a little too nervous to be genuine.
“Blame the war.” The man mumbled and Dream snorted, letting himself believe it for the moment. And if he ignored the dread turning his stomach to lead and the little alarms blaring in the back of his mind, then that was his business.

“I wonder where our esteemed leader is.” Punz suddenly piped up, breaking the tension like a hatchet through thin ice, and Dream had never been more thankful for their backup than in that moment. Sapnap just snorted and hopped to his feet before lunging past Dream to grab at his sword. “No fucking clue. Couldn’t really care less either.” Dream choked at that one and Sapnap shot him a grin and suddenly it was as if the tension that had been mounting between them vanished like a thunderclap and the chasm that had been threatening to rip their friendship into the abyss had suddenly mended. 

“Oi! You lot!” Sapnap jumped while Dream and Punz turned to face the door, meeting the glazed and very much drunk countenance of their oh so grand leader. Schlatt looked like a stiff breeze would blow him over, his skin a sickly yellow shade, and Dream absently thought that Pogtopia probably wouldn’t need to kill him after all; the man didn’t look like he’d survive the next hour, let alone the entire fight. “Get out here!” He shouted, although uncharacteristically he didn’t bother to shout anything more disparaging before stumbling away. The three fighters shared a confused look between them, although Punz’s was little more than a downturn of their lips and Dream’s expression was entirely hidden. “Was it me… or did he seem-” Sapnap paused.
“Wrong?” Punz suggested and Sapnap nodded. Dream didn't say anything, but he couldn’t help but track Schlatt’s progress back to his office and he frowned as he noticed something distinctly off. ‘Schlatt’s soul, it’s less… human.’

Schlatt huffed and brushed the sweat from his forehead, only to blink when he realised his hand was shaking so badly that he could barely keep it steady. His vision was swimming in and out of focus while his muscles trembled, but the man didn’t stop moving until he was in front of his desk. Once there however, all the strength in his legs gave out and the man slumped to the floor with a breathy whine so unlike him that if anyone would have heard it, they wouldn’t have believed it had come from him. Panting like a dog, he couldn’t help but lean his forehead against the cool wood of his grand desk as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. “Wha-” He choked and coughed violently as it felt like his chest was being ripped apart. “What’s happenin’-” And then, all of a sudden, Schlatt faded. In his place a dark thing awoke, wearing the man’s body like a puppet and turning his eyes and visceral, terrifying black.

“Hmm.” The thing hummed, easily moving Schlatt’s aching and twitching body up and prowling towards his chair. He sank into it with nary a sound, although his body didn’t stop twitching erratically. “This body won’t hold up for much longer.” The thing mused before tutting with false annoyance. “Shame.” He noted, although the blandness of his tone would have made anyone listening shiver. “Not long now, Dreamer.” Schlatt’s face suddenly twisted into a sick grin as he rested his chin on his intertwined hands, elbows thunking down on the thick wooden desk top. “Not long now… and then you’ll never corrupt her ever again.” He cackled and the walls almost shook with the force. 

(Meanwhile, Dream’s head snapped up as an achingly familiar voice echoed through his mind. It was a woman’s, her tone sad and voice choked with tears, but the exact words eluded him. Instead, all it left the god with was a deep sense of grief and dread that he couldn’t seem to shake.

“You good, Dream?” Sapnap asked, him and Punz having halted a little ways in front of the god when Dream had lurched to a halt. Shaking himself out of it, Dream waved them off and continued, but his mind never stopped whirling.)

Chapter Text

Techno tried not to roll his eyes too hard as he led the anxious rebels to his bunker. ‘It’s like herding fucking cats.’ He mentally scoffed, eyeing Tommy as he nearly took a nosedive into a nearby pothole because he was bouncing around so much. Only Fundy and Purpled were acting anywhere near normal and that was only because they were sticking so close to Techno’s back that he could almost feel their breath on his neck. He didn’t blame them though; war wasn’t something any child should have to deal with and while Tommy and Tubbo seemed gung-ho about it, they couldn’t hide their minute flashes of fear from him.

Tommy suddenly shoved himself to the front as Techno began heading towards the river, causing the piglin to glance up at him. “Where are we going, Blade?” The piglin hybrid grimaced at the name but abidingly answered anyway; now wasn’t the time to get into a pissing match with his most stubborn and bull-headed brother. “You’ll see.” The man simply said, getting a scowl from Tommy. “We’re nearly here.” He gestured at the lake, cutting Tommy’s incoming rant off and getting a confused look back, but Techno just waded right in. “Follow me!” He shouted, just loud enough for everyone to hear, before he dived beneath the surface and dug through the mound of dirt he’d been using to hide it. Immediately he dropped down the chute and scrambled to lunge out the other side before everyone else came crashing down on him. It only took a few moments and suddenly his little base was crammed with people, all talking at once and making his ears ring. They immediately started going through his chests, but seeing as he’d hidden all of his important things in Arielle’s bunker, he wasn’t too worried about it. “Oi! Oi!” He shouted, finally shutting everyone up. “It’s not here; c’mon.” He beckoned, leading the group to his enchanting room.

“It’s so cramped in here.” Fundy murmured as he followed the piglin hybrid, wincing as Purpled knocked into him and trapped his tail against the wall. The older boy apologised so softly all Techno heard was a whisper, but Fundy’s enhanced hearing obviously picked it up as he waved Purpled off with a grin that was a little too stiff to hide his nerves. Tommy crashed into the enchanting room a moment later, talking a mile a minute just as Techno crouched under his bookshelves with a huff. Niki followed the blonde with a look of faint exasperation on her face that Techno resonated with far too much, but he pushed all of that to the back of his mind as he searched for his hidden lever.

And then he paused. He stared at the lever that would reveal the final hidden (‘-safe-’ his mind whispered) part of his base and wondered if he was doing the right thing. He wasn’t going to make the bunker connected to his base to begin with; he thought it would be too dangerous for Arielle. But Techno knew that his daughter couldn’t keep living like this. It had hit him all at once when he was watching the other Pogtopians struggle in the dark. And yes, he knew they had a war hanging over their heads, but just the environment itself was as much of a morale killer as the looming rebellion. And that’s when it had come to him; Arielle needed more than a dark, cold bunker underground. It was why he was risking this; if he could get into Pogtopia’s good graces, then maybe, just maybe, they would let Techno live in peace. And if that happened and he could set up a home above ground, somewhere nearby so his brothers could finally meet his daughter (after whatever was going on with Wilbur was sorted, of course) then Techno would take that chance. For his daughter.

“Techno?” Niki’s voice snapped the piglin from his spiralling thoughts and he clenched a fist to ground himself back to the present. He didn’t bother looking back into the faces that were watching him curiously and instead just wiggled further into the tiny gap (and ignoring the faint humiliation that prickled across his neck about being in such a position) and flicked the lever. Immediately a slab of stone slid back into the wall with a grinding screech, causing Techno and everyone else to wince, but eventually there was a ladder opening leading down. “Now this…” Techno grinned as he slipped down the ladder, everyone else following. “This is the vault.” He continued to the sounds of everyone’s gasps, Tubbo yelling ‘WHAT?’ over and over as he darted inside. The whole room was finally completed with blackstone lining the walls, chests filling each of the three corridors with the loot he’d painstakingly gathered. The others all rushed in, eyes wide and jaws dropping almost to the ground, and Techno let himself revel in the dramatics of the whole reveal for a bit. Thankfully, only he seemed to notice the small patch of discoloured wall off to the left which led to Arielle’s bunker, but he made sure to loiter far away from it anyway. 

“Holy shit!” Wilbur shouted as he wrenched a chest full of glittering potions open.
“We’re ready for Revolution, boys!” Techno crowed as everyone else immediately dived in. Tubbo seemed to stash a whole chest’s-worth of emeralds into his pockets, rushing around with them half falling out, while Quackity made a beeline for the glittering netherite armour displayed proudly on their stands at the end of the room. The others buzzed about like excited bees, hopping and darting between each other, and Techno leaned against the wall near the ladder with a smug, satisfied grin on his face as he watched his favourite kind of chaos unfold.

It didn’t take Pogtopia long to strip the place almost bare, taking full advantage of the offered spoils, and pretty soon Techno was standing at the helm of a group decked out with full netherite gear. Everyone was almost vibrating as their morale skyrocketed and in the back of his mind Techno let himself breathe a sigh of relief that everyone’s life expectancies of surviving what was probably going to be a shit-show of a battle had just increased exponentially. However, then Techno caught sight of Wilbur’s very armourless self and he scowled. “Oi- Wilbur, put some armour on.” The man just raised an eyebrow at him before scoffing and Techno felt a lance of hurt streak through his chest.
“Sorry man I just- I don’t want netherite. Don’t need it!” He exclaimed, but there was a mania to his eyes again that told Techno he was better off not fighting it. Usually he would have, but one glance at a very worried looking Fundy, whose ears were pinned back to his head, told the piglin hybrid that it just wasn’t worth it that time. ‘I’ll just have to stay close to him then.’  

“Right, well-” Techno muttered before heading back to the ladder, eager to get out of the one place that might reveal Arielle’s existence to the others. “Everyone out! I’m locking this place down so no-one else can get to it.” Techno explained and everyone immediately rushed to the ladder. Only once Wilbur, who was the final straggler, had left did Techno temporarily block up the entrance and rush to where Arielle was hiding. Reaching behind a rather clever fake wall (if he did say so himself) which was made from a map that mimicked the look of blackstone, Techno flicked the hidden lever to her room and darted inside. However, he then stuttered to a stop immediately, a small smile on his face. Arielle was curled into a ball on her bed, her favourite plushie in her arms as she snoozed away. The room still looked normal, with his chests on one side and Arielle’s bed on the other, with a huge mountain of toys hidden underneath it for her. “Stay safe, Arielle.” Techno whispered, brushing a hand over his daughter’s head, before he forced himself out of the room and shut the door before his heart convinced him to hide away with the little girl, Revolution be damned. Taking a deep, shaky breath, the man broke the lever and tossed it away into the corner of the room, to never be found, and Techno left the vault knowing that his little girl, for at least the moment, was safe. 

(However, what he didn’t notice as he entered the bunker that had been their home for the last two years or so, was Fundy’s attention snap towards him. His nose twitched as he picked up a new scent on Techno, one that seemed familiar and yet not, and Fundy blinked when he realised the smell faintly covered the whole space and was even just present in the vault. However, now it was ten times stronger on Techno and Fundy wondered where on earth it had come from if he hadn’t smelt it so strongly before.)

Dream clipped his coms kit to his helmet and flicked it on, wincing as the static momentarily deafened him. But eventually it gave way to the voices of his friends, all harried as they prepared for the fight, and Dream hoisted himself up on a roof of a building near the festival plaza to get a good look of the landscape. “Punz, status?” He barked through the microphone, momentarily hushing the babble. There was a few seconds of silence before the coms crackled to life and Dream sighed in relief that he’d hooked them up right; admin and god abilities could be flaky at the best of times and Dream wasn’t too great at linking communicators together like this yet. “We’re good over here. Nothing to see yet.” The man reported and so Dream switched frequencies.
“Sapnap? Are you good?” The man asked and immediately his friend responded.
“Yep. Nothing over here.” Dream sighed in relief and shut off the comms to let himself relax a little.

Dream knew they were coming soon; Techno had sent him a quick message once they’d left his base and so Dream had immediately been on high alert. It would take them a while to get over here, especially since Techno was having to deal with characters like Wilbur and Tommy (and it said something that the most troublesome members of the group were both of Techno’s brothers) but Dream knew that once they did arrive, all hell would break loose. ‘We just have to draw Schlatt out and then we can surrender.’ His mind kept reminding him and Dream forced the tremble from his limbs. He wasn’t a stranger to war, not in this life and not before either, but that didn’t mean that he was all that comfortable leading what amounted to a small battalion, and especially since he had friends on both sides. Only the knowledge that he was secretly working with Techno (and crucially not Pogtopia) kept him sane and Dream took a deep, shaky breath in. 

However, he didn’t get to relax for long. Dream hissed as static suddenly exploded in his ears and he quickly switched his coms on. “Dream! Frequency two, now!” Sapnap yelled and Dream immediately switched. And then all of a sudden it was chaos.
“They’re here! They’re- shit!” Karl yelled and Dream shot to his feet.
“Sapnap, Punz- over to Karl, now!” He barked as he peered at the tower that Karl was stationed in. He couldn’t see anything yet, but very quickly a whole group of netherite clad-foes charged around the corner and began scaling the tower and Dream gritted his teeth. “Showtime.” He whispered to himself before he steeled his nerves and launched himself from the roof to join the fray.

Schlatt panted for breath as he stumbled from the whitehouse, his mind flickering back to the black book which he’d hurled into the corner of the room. He could get away; he knew he could, he just needed to be faster-

Whizz-BOOM.

Schlatt flinched as deadly fireworks lit up the sky. “Shit shit shit.” The man snarled as he stumbled down the corridor. His chest was seizing like a crappy plastic contraption, his heartbeat loud and irregular in his ears, and Schlatt had the sudden realisation that he’d probably finally run headfirst into something his smooth talking couldn’t get him out of. “Of all the things…” He panted, a wry smile twisting his lips. However, it quickly contorted into a snarl and he slammed a fist against the wall in frustration. “I won’t go out… like this-!”

Clang.

The man jumped and his head shot up, only to see an iron helmet from one of his displays crash to the floor. It looks to be in decent condition and when he checked, the rest of the set seemed relatively fine as well. It was decorative, so he wasn’t sure how protective it would actually be, but if it was a choice between that or no armour at all… “Well.” Schlatt murmured, holding in a cough. “Better than nothing.”

Phil crowed victoriously as his part of the barrier finally wavered before dissolving, leaving a small gap just large enough for him to squeeze through. He got an accompanying cacophony from his murder and his love’s pride seeped into his mind and almost made him blush. “Right, right. Time to get going.” Phil muttered, standing quickly and brushing off his clothes. He eyed the gap and carefully stepped through, making sure to avoid the ragged edges of the world border that no doubt would vaporise him on contact. His lady's presence was bouncing around his mind like a ping pong ball and normally it would have been amusing, but the lingering darkness of Wilbur’s letter, as well as the worry his lady was all but saturated in, cut through any kind of light hearted atmosphere he could have tried to create. His crows seemed to sense the tension and were suspiciously silent, diving through the hole after Phil and spreading out in the air above him.

“Find Wilbur!” Phil called up at them as he spread his wings and launched into the sky. His crows scattered like prey before a predator, soaring off in all directions. However, Phil didn’t follow immediately. He remained in place, wings steadily beating against the air, until his lady’s faint nudge gave him an inkling of a direction. “I’m coming, Wilbur. Hold on for me.” The blonde whispered before angling downwards and within the space of two wingbeats, he was gone.

Chapter Text

Techno raced up to the bottom of the tower, ducking an errant arrow and pulling Tubbo out of the line of fire of another projectile. “Up!” He roared, gathering his makeshift army’s attention. “Go up!” He yelled again, which finally got the Pogtopians moving. They scaled the side of the tower, Techno trying to cover them the best he could with his firework rockets, and pretty quickly they’d all made it to the first balcony. “Where’s Karl!?” Wilbur shouted, rushing around like a madman, and Techno resisted the urge to pick his brother up and plant him in a corner somewhere, where his lack of armour wouldn’t get him killed. But the sudden explosion of fire and colours from above sent everyone scrambling for cover with screams. “Dammit.” Techno cursed, darting out from underneath the doorway and spinning around. His crossbow fired into the air in the next moment and the man winced when he heard a scream from above as his firework hit someone dead on. 

“Good shot, Tech!” Tommy screamed from the other side of the tower, but Techno felt none of the pride he usually did. Instead, the whole situation was turning his stomach and the man swallowed at the sight of Tubbo ducking away from an arrow before returning fire with a vicious grin on his face that didn’t suit his too-young age. However, the man’s inattention caught up to him and Techno spat out a curse as a flaming arrow embedded itself in his shoulder and he went down. “Fuck! I’m hit!” He yelled, forcing himself to roll back into the main tower. Niki was there a second later, helping him sit up, and the pair shared a single look before Niki was yanking the arrow out of his shoulder and Techno deflated with a hissed growl. “Here. Apple.” The woman shoved a golden apple into his hand before disappearing and Techno devoured it quickly, wincing as he felt his wound knit itself back together. A second later he was back outside, sending revenge fire up at those above him, and only the sheer amount of experience he had with messy fights like this one kept him from being overwhelmed from the chaos erupting around him.

The defenders quickly stopped shooting at them and Techno knew the time had come to push forward. Everyone else began climbing the tower, but Techno just dropped a water bucket and shivered as he took a hold of his humming trident. A quick thrust later and he was sailing up the tower and the man couldn’t help but grin a little when he heard Wilbur’s gasped exclamations of delight that made him sound like his brother again instead of the madman that had taken his place. “Where are they?!” Tommy yelled, sword braced in front of him as Quackity flanked him.
“They jumped!” Tubbo called from below and everyone rushed to the ledge. Pretty quickly Techno spotted two blurry figures rushing through Manberg below them, but it was the familiar flash of green from the market that held his attention. “It’s Dream! He’s down there; in the market!” Tommy screamed but Techno was already a step ahead. The two men stared at each other and even from this distance, Techno managed to spot the god’s nod before he darted off and disappeared so quickly between the buildings that it was as if he’d instantly vanished. “Was he mocking us?!” Tommy screeched and Techno winced.

Techno quickly pulled out his emergency water bucket and threw it down just as he dropped off the edge of the tower, landing heavily back on the first layer. Punz and Dream were approaching with predatory gaits and Techno let off a few firework shots that purposely went wide. Everyone followed his example, although their shots were actually aiming to kill, and Techno’s eyes narrowed when he realised none of the Pogtopians were actually being hit. Techno knew Dream could have wiped them out in his sleep, so the fact that none of them were being injured and Punz was following his lead gave the piglin hybrid a tentative spark of hope that maybe, just maybe, no-one would die that day.

“Ah shit!” Wilbur suddenly cried out and Techno spun around in time to see the man drop into a puddle of water and roll maniacally to put out the flames that had been creeping over his coat.
“Wil! You good?” Techno shouted and his brother rolled to his feet and shot him a thumbs up alongside a crazy grin.
“Yep!”
“Protect Wil, guys! He goes down and we all do!” Fundy called out and Techno didn’t miss the slight wince from Wilbur when his own son called him by name. 
“Nah, we still got Plan B!” Wilbur yelled out and Techno froze, almost being smacked in the head by Eret’s bow at the same time.
“You’re not using Plan B, Wilbur!” Niki shrieked, terror and anger in her tone as she launched a rocket down at the men below. However, as Wilbur began arguing back, Techno forced himself to stay where he was even as his grip tightened around his crossbow. It was one thing to know his brother intended to blow up the whole damn city, but hearing him sound so confident, as if it was a foregone conclusion, was another thing entirely. ‘That fucking idiot.’ Techno snarled to himself as he realised Wilbur had gone behind their backs again and must have planted the explosives under Manberg anyway. Explosives that, should they detonate, might reach his bunker.

“We need to go down!” Techno roared before launching himself off of the tower and into the nearby river. The warrior was banking on the thought of his insane brother being a little less likely to blow the town sky high with them still inside it and seeing as it was the only option Techno had, he took it. Fundy, Tommy and Quackity followed and Techno barely heard the other’s shouts from so low. However, the three of them didn’t waste time shooting at Schlatt’s men and pretty quickly Techno found himself chasing after Karl. Unfortunately for the brunet however, Techno was far faster than him and after a brief struggle, Techno managed to elbow the man in the temple and he finally went down. “Karl down!” Techno yelled, getting an answering ruckus back. 

After that the whole battlefield descended into chaos as the Pogtopians pushed into Manberg and Schlatt’s faction was pushed back. Techno bumped into Dream briefly during the pandemonium and the piglin knocked him into a house, pulling the door shut behind them. “Wilbur’s got eleven tonnes of TNT below Manberg. If it blows, get Arielle.” Techno barked and Dream froze.
“What?!” The god hissed but Techno didn’t have time.
“Go!” He shouted, kicking Dream out of the window and the god worked with the momentum to crash land further away. A second later Tubbo came skidding into the room and Techno let the boy drag him back outside. Punz was a little further away, fielding projectiles with his shield from three different angles, and Techno burst into a sprint towards him. The Pogtopians stopped shooting in fear of hitting Techno and Punz gave a grateful nod to the man before he pearled away, barely missing Techno’s purposely wide axe swing. 

“Tubbo c’mon, regroup!” Techno called, yanking the boy back the way they came as he headed towards the centre of the ruined town. Everywhere he looked fire and destruction followed and for once, Techno wasn’t sure if the sight was beautiful or tragic. Homes were crumbling down, streets were torn apart, and blood was splattered across everything in some kind of macabre art display. Thankfully however, it quickly became clear that the fighting seemed to be petering off. The Pogtopians were gathered on top of a ruined grey building and as Techno and Tubbo approached, the former spotted Niki passing out healing potions to Quackity as the man worked to bind a vicious looking slash wound on Purpled’s shoulder. “You good?” Techno asked the younger boy and he quietly blinked up at Techno and nodded.
“Now what?” Tommy hissed, pacing up and down, and Techno frowned when he realised he couldn’t see Wilbur.

“Wilbur!” Techno jolted as Dream’s voice boomed across Pogtopia in a way that suggested he was probably using some admin or god fuckery to make himself louder. “We need to talk!” Tommy and Techno shared a look before they both dropped to the ground, darting towards the market just as Wilbur rounded the corner. The brunet was covered head to toe in dust, but miraculously even without armour he seemed to have escaped the carnage relatively unscathed. “Oh? Now you want to talk.” Wilbur drawled just as Dream rounded the corner with Sapnap and Punz flanking him. However, the rest of the Pogtopians surged forward and techno pushed down an unfamiliar surge of anxiety at the sight of all of them pointing their highly deadly weapons (which he knew were deadly since he’d made them) at the one person Techno actually saw as a friend.  

“Wilbur. Can we talk alone?” Dream stressed and immediately the Pogtopians erupted. However, Wilbur held up a hand and like the good little soldiers they were, his army fell silent. “Sure, why not. C’mon, over here.” Wilbur beckoned and Techno watched with narrowed eyes as his friend and his brother wandered away and began talking.
“I don’t like this.” Tommy hissed, scowling at the back of Dream’s armoured head, but Techno knew neither of them were in danger. Dream wouldn’t kill Wilbur and Wilbur, even if he tried to hurt Dream, wouldn’t be able to do a thing to him. He’d never been that much of a fighter and seeing as Dream could best Techno half the time, any hopes of Wilbur winning a one vs one against the god were laughable. “Wait- where’s Schlatt?” Fundy suddenly piped up and Techno tensed as he realised they hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the slimy man. Scanning the battlefield, Techno paused as something silver flashed in the smashed window of what looked like an old van. However, it was so worn down it’s walls looked to be made of dirt and the ceiling was collapsing in. “No way.” He breathed, catching Niki and Fundy’s attention.

“Everyone, weapons down!” Wilbur suddenly roared from next to Dream and the Pogtopians glanced at each other. “NOW!” Wilbur screamed again and Techno reluctantly hung his crossbow back on his belt. Everyone else followed suit with their own weaponry and Wilbur nodded at them before turning back to Dream. “Well, I don’t trust that.”
“I don’t like that at all.” Techno and Tommy spoke in unison before glancing at each other. Tommy grinned and Techno snorted and all of a sudden it was like they were back in their home’s garden playing as children instead of beaten and bloodied in a smoking battleground that had once been a thriving community.

A moment later Wilbur began leading Dream back to the Pogtopians and everyone shifted uncomfortably. Techno tried to catch Dream’s eye, ignoring the fact that it was literally impossible with the god’s mask on, but nevertheless the piglin hybrid got the impression Dream was watching him back. “Okay- everyone be quiet for a moment.” Dream barked and surprisingly the Pogtopians fell silent.
“Well, if my enemy insists.” Techno couldn’t help but joke and Dream rolled his head to Techno in a way that the man knew the god was shooting him a deadpan look. Everyone around them tittered and laughed, but the tension dropped a little and Techno mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done. “So… we would like… to surrender.” Dream announced and Techno breathed a sigh of relief as the Pogtopians began exclaiming in confusion among themselves. “It’s because Schlatt’s an idiot.” Dream finished, bursting the Pogtopian’s bubble, and Techno (and surprisingly Niki) snorted. “Plus… I have to show you all something.”

Techno’s eyebrow raised as everyone began calling out various iterations of ‘what’ until Wilbur loudly clapped his hands. “Quiet!” He hissed and everyone fell silent once more.
“Follow me.” Dream ordered before he began leisurely strolling down Manberg’s destroyed streets. Techno and Wilbur didn’t waste a moment before following, although the others took a second or two to get over the confusion before they hurried along. Dream led them to the same van Techno had spotted before and the piglin let a devilish smile stretch his face as he realised this was finally going to be over. And just as he’d expected, everyone poured into the van with shouts of shock as stood there, swaying in the centre of the room with a ramshackle suit of iron barely hanging onto his body, was Schlatt himself.

Chapter Text

Techno withheld a sneer as he leaned back against the wall of the van, although a moment later he stood up again as it creaked ominously under his weight. Wilbur and Dream had taken centre stage, stood in front of Schlatt like a mexican standoff, but by the way the man was swaying dangerously and huffing like he’d just run a marathon, Techno doubted Schlatt knew much of what was going on at all. Everyone else was squeezed into the van, pushing and elbowing each other to get a view, and Techno was just glad he was tall enough to choose the back corner and still see the drama that was about to unfold. However, as Schlatt hiccuped and almost fell over, a wretched scent drifted towards the piglin hybrid and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. It wasn’t the overwhelming stench of alcohol that was so putrid however, even if it was horribly present. Instead, the smell almost reminded Techno of the nether’s foliage, if it was rotting away at the seams and had been baking in the sun for a month.  

Holding his breath, Techno covered his mouth with his hand and tried to ignore the smell as Wilbur sauntered forward. “Well well well. How the mighty have fallen.” The brunette sneered, getting up in Schlatt’s face. However, Techno bit his lip to hide his laugh when his brother recoiled as if he’d smelt something particularly foul. “Regretted that quickly.” The piglin hybrid murmured, catching Dream’s amused head nod towards him. Schlatt in response just burped, almost toppling over, and Techno sighed and rested his head on his hand as everyone around him sneered with hatred and disgust. “Wha-” Schlatt gasped, looking completely out of it. “Is this a surprise birthday party?” He tried to drawl sarcastically, but the breathlessness to his voice just made him sound entirely out of touch with reality. However, as the man gasped and heaved as if he wasn’t getting enough air, Techno frowned and wondered morbidly if the man would even survive the next conversation until Wilbur or one of the other Pogtopians could off him.

“What are you even doing here, man?” Wilbur asked, sounding more bewildered and done with this entire situation than angry anymore. Ironically, it made him sound more like the sarcastic little shit of a brother Techno was used to and the piglin fought off a well-worn smirk. Schlatt just smirked and fumbled with his pocket, pulling out a small flask and knocking the whole thing back in one go. The stench of alcohol seemed to triple in the confined space and Techno spotted Fundy recoiling into the corner with a wince. “What- are you drinking?” Wilbur asked in shock, but Schlatt just shouted something indecipherable and began giggling hysterically. “This is what you wanted to show me? Really?” Wilbur turned to Dream incredulously, but the god just shrugged. However, his posture was clear to Techno and the hybrid had no doubt that beneath his mask, Dream was grinning like the cat that caught the canary. “Is this your leader, Dream?” Tommy piped up with a shit-eating grin and wiped the smirk from Dream’s face.
“No, obviously not. Use your brain, Tommy.” The god sneered back and Tommy’s grin dropped as quickly as it had formed. However, before a brawl could break out right then and there in the van, Schlatt suddenly collapsed to his knees while still somehow giggling like it was his last night on earth.

Wilbur just shot a raised eyebrow at Techno, but he just shrugged. “Do you want me to end it?” Wilbur offered to go to the room, but Dream stepped forward shaking his head.
“Nah. No point. I just wanted you to see… well, this, I guess.” Dream shrugged his arms out in a ‘what can you do?’ gesture and Wilbur didn’t seem to know how to take that.
“Fundy?!” Schlatt suddenly screamed and Techno’s eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here- you bitch!” The man lunged forward all of a sudden, fingers aiming for Fundy’s face. The fox squeaked and ducked, but Techno was already taking care of it. Within a moment an arrow had planted itself into Schlatt’s leg, pinning him into the rotten floorboards, and he went down with a shriek of agony that morphed into a heaving wheeze. A moment later he was violently throwing up across the ground and Techno smirked as Wilbur yelped and jumped out of the way of the splatter. “Oh that’s gross.” Niki murmured, a hand over her nose.

“WHY?!” Schlatt suddenly screamed, snot dripping down his face. “Help me!” He yelled at Fundy, but the fox sucked in a deep breath and sneered at the man trying and failing to crawl across the ground. “Schlatt, you fucked up! You fucked up the country, the people- everything! You had a dream and I followed it, but you brought it down hill- everything- you- you ruined it!” The man ranted, fists clenched, and Techno sat back and watched the chaos with a grin on his face. “You ruined everything!” Fundy finished, backing away and panting, and immediately Quackity took position in front of the fox with a shield up high, although Techno mused mentally with a chuckle that it could have been to protect against any further… vomiting rather than a potential attack. “Yeah? But guess what?!” Schlatt hissed, sounding less drunk and more pissed. “I’m something that you’re not, Fundy.” He sneered and Techno felt his grin slip from his face.
“Yeah? And what’s that? A drunkard?!” He snapped back, but Schlatt just grinned.
“I’m a man.”

In an instant, Fundy recoiled as if he’d been slapped and Techno straightened like an elastic band snapping back into place. Wilbur snarled and slammed forward, his sword against an insanely laughing Schlatt’s neck, and Niki pulled Fundy into her arms despite the no doubt awkwardly uncomfortable armour they were both wearing. “Now that’s it.” Wilbur hissed and Schlatt, for a moment, had a flicker of fear in his eyes as a drop of blood ran down his neck. “Let me end it.” Wilbur sneered before a manic glint entered his gaze and he spun around. “Tommy, Tommy- do you still have Dream’s bow?” The blonde frowned before lifting said bow higher with a nod.
“Yeah?” Wilbur just grinned.
“I want you to put it between his eyes.” Tommy’s eyes went wide and Techno frowned, stepping forward into the ring of bodies for the first time.
“Wilbur, no. I’ll do it.” Techno offered, not wanting to see his brother become a cold-blooded murderer. Killing someone in a battle to save your life is one thing, but shooting an already surrounded and most likely dying man just to prove a point was something Techno never wanted his brothers to have to go through. 

“Victory or death!” Wilbur just crowed and Tommy pointed his bow at Schlatt, trying to look firm but his eyes gave him away. “Do it, Tommy!” He called and Techno scowled.
“You know, if you kill me, this country goes down with me!” Schlatt taunted but Tommy rolled his eyes.
“No it doesn’t, Schlatt.” He nonchalantly responded and Schlatt gritted his teeth so hard Techno heard one crack. “This is it-” Tommy started before Schlatt cut in.
“Oh I had everyone turn on me! In my time of need!” He crowed, sounding almost delighted, and Techno straightened as the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. It suddenly felt like an insidious darkness was creeping into the van and he spotted Dream go ramrod still across the room. Suddenly everyone began talking all at once, getting louder and louder, but Techno didn’t take his eyes off Dream. The god seemed frozen, but whether it was fear or something else, the warrior didn’t know. All he knew was that something was wrong and was about to get worse, although how Techno didn’t know. But he would be ready for it.

Wilbur suddenly stepped forward and threw his hands into the air, causing Quackity to step back and cut off his heated argument with a clearly hysterical Schlatt. “Enough! Quiet! Schlatt, do you have any last-” But then Wilbur cut himself off with a frown as Schlatt began wheezing. “Schlatt?” He asked, but the man just collapsed onto his chest and his eyes rolled up in his head. “Wha- toast-” Schlatt mumbled and Techno sat back and watched as the man began hacking up globs of blood onto the ground. He gave out a few, half-hearted wheezes before Tommy let his bow drop as Schlatt’s chest stuttered and finally laid still. His eyes grew glassy and unseeing and Techno breathed a sigh of relief that with Schlatt’s death, it was finally over.

But of course, nothing is ever so simple.

Ten minutes later, Techno uneasily took his place at the back of the crowd as Tommy climbed up the podium. Everything about this was rubbing him the wrong way and the warrior couldn’t help but see history repeating itself as the blonde began his speech. “Uh- hello everyone!” Tommy called, slightly breathless. “It looks like we won.” He announced and a great cheer went up across the crowd that Techno half-heartedly joined in with. “And I never thought I’d say this, but after all the hardships, the tyranny we’ve been through, Wilbur, Tubbo, after everything… it was meant to be.” Tommy announced and Techno suddenly felt it. It was as if a lightning strike had travelled through his body and he stiffened. Dream was perched on a nearby building and Techno watched as he flinched before hunkering down beneath the lip of the roof and the anxiety that one movement caused Techno couldn’t be described. 

Everyone began laughing and celebrating around him, but Techno couldn’t join in. Instead he watched with narrowed eyes as Tommy cleared his throat to calm everyone down. “Ih- uh, thank you, everyone, for making me the President.” And that one sentence said it all. Techno scowled and his gaze flicked between everyone’s faces as Tommy called Tubbo up to the stage, passing on the Presidency, but the unease in his gut just grew as people stared up at Tubbo and by extension, their President, with the exact same adoring gazes he’d always seen. Suddenly this revolution became clear to Techno; this wasn’t a war to free the people from leadership. No, this was a hostile coup. And Techno had played right into their hands.

As the anger and betrayal grew, Techno spun around and met Dream’s gaze. Surprisingly, the god had one half of his face uncovered as as their eyes met, suddenly the pair were on the same page. It wasn’t just about Manberg anymore. Any kind of superpower that could threaten Dream and his leadership of this world could, in turn, threaten the one person that both of the most powerful men in this world held dear; Arielle. And neither of them would stand for that. Dream nodded in solidarity and that solidified Techno’s resolve. Nodding back, the piglin steeled his shoulders and darted off to the side, drawing very little attention. However, he never saw Wilbur slink off as everyone began celebrating, nor how Dream urged Sapnap, Punz and the Badlands group to back away from the centre stage. Instead, he simply knocked his crossbow and as a shiver of someone entering the world border hit his back, Techno fired.

Screams erupted as Tubbo was blown off his feet, the firework hitting the ground just shy of actually impacting the boy himself. Tommy lunged forward and Techno dodged, sliding out of the way as everyone swung around to face him. “Alright, listen here!” Techno roared, startling everyone so much that they instantly fell quiet. “I did not spend weeks planning this revolution, giving you guys gear, for you guys to go ahead and replace one tyrant with another! Do you see what’s happening here? Don’t you see history repeatin’ itself?! You think Schlatt was the cause of all your problems?! No! No, it was one man being at the top of the food chain! Just- stop with leaders!” Techno ranted and everyone stared at him. “Why can’t you all just… exist?! Have no one at the top!” Techno shouted and was gratified to see Fundy and Niki share a considering look between them.
“But- who would make the rules?!” Quackity called back and Techno rolled his eyes with a huff. 
“I don’t know- make a council with everyone in on it. Vote on everything, like you seem to like to do! Or don’t, since that’s apparently what got you all into this mess.” Techno hissed and Quackity recoiled with a whimper. However, Tommy wasn’t going to let it go. “Leave Tubbo alone!” He shrieked, running forward with his sword braced, and Techno growled. He caught the boy’s erratic swing and disarmed him in a single sharp movement, kicking him to the ground and knowing that the only way to get through to his stubborn brother would be to pin him and make him listen.

However, Tubbo didn’t seem to link that much. A moment later an axe was on a collision course with techno’s side and he acted almost on autopilot, deflecting it with his sword and slashing back in response. Tubbo jumped back with a snarl, but that single offensive move was all it took and Techno growled lowly in his throat as all the Pogtopians began drawing weapons and advancing. “Why do people never listen?!” Techno snarled as he dodged an attack by Quackity and tripped another guy he’d never even seen before with his axe, sending him sprawling across the ground. A moment later Dream suddenly swung in like Tarzan, slamming into Tommy and sending him flying, and Techno took advantage of the well-needed distraction to breathe in a deep, steadying breath. The hurt and betrayal were urging him onwards, Chat screaming at the top of their lungs for blood, but Techno… didn’t really want to kill anyone. It was a foreign feeling to the hybrid but he’d spent so long looking out for Niki and Fundy and even Purpled, despite not being there for long, that to Techno, attacking them felt… wrong.

And then they all felt it.

All of a sudden the earth began trembling as distant booms met their ears and Techno felt terror drop into his chest and seize his lungs and squeeze. Frantically he looked for Dream, spotting the man stumbling over a crack that had just opened up in the ground, and their frantic and terrified eyes met as the explosions began to crack the surface. Between them they only had one thought, one fear that could tear them to shreds now that the worst case scenario had been realised…

…Arielle.

Chapter Text

“What are you doing?” Phil asked as he stood in the doorway of the strange underground bunker his lady had led him to. His son spun around so quickly he almost lost his balance, but Phil felt his heart cracking into pieces when he saw his son’s face. His skin was ghostly pale and covered in dirt and drying blood, his clothes looked one light tug away from falling to pieces, and his hair was flat with grease and sweat. However, that all paled to Phil compared to the coldness of Wilbur’s previous bright and soft brown eyes and the hopelessness badly hidden behind his gaze. Although the shock and flash of terror tried to conceal it, Phil could never have missed it. 

“Phil!?” Wilbur yelped, a little bird-like chirp of distress slipping through. Phil fought the urge to respond, his logical brain screaming at him that something was wrong. The darkness he’d felt from his boy’s letter was so much stronger here, like a thick miasmic cloud that circled and embraced his son like the hug of a lover. Except this one came with thorns. “Wh-what are you doing here?” Wilbur asked, wide-eyed, and Phil took a few more steps into the cramped room.
“I hacked in.” He shrugged and as he’d intended, it only threw his son off more, giving the blonde a chance to try and figure out what the fuck was going on. He could hear the distant sounds of shouting outside, a tenseness to the atmosphere that couldn’t be faked, and his lady was holding herself carefully silent in the back of his mind as if waiting for the inevitable. “You- you hacked in? Why?” Wilbur asked and Phil frowned.
“Wil- I know I didn’t teach you everything I should have, with our heritage, but you must have felt the darkness on the last letter you sent?” Phil almost desperately asked, but when he went to take a few more steps towards his son, Wilbur flinched back.
“What- no?” He asked and that brought Phil up short. “E-everything’s fine! We- we just made Tubbo president and- and we won the war! Schlatt’s gone! I wasn’t doing anything!” Wilbur almost spat out with the force of his ramble, a shake to his hands that Phil couldn’t have missed if he’d tried, and dread sank like a stone in the father’s stomach.

Phil frowned and cut in before Wilbur could open his mouth again. “Uh huh… So… where is this then? Why aren’t you out celebrating with your brothers and Tubbo?” Wilbur’s face shuttered at that and he turned away, Phi taking the chance to creep further into the room. He could almost see war veterans in Wilbur’s stance; weighed down by the weight of the world and tormented by their demons to the point where they didn’t know what was reality and what was their own twisted dreams. It sent claxons ringing in Phil’s mind and he bit down on his lip to keep his bird instincts from doing something stupid, like rushing forward and plucking his son into his arms before running for the hills. He couldn’t risk spooking him; not with the very ominous button only a few feet in front of him attached to the stone wall; he knew his son had always been oh so attached to his explosive pranks, although this time Phil doubted it would be just a prank.

Phil couldn’t help but glance at the hastily scratched letters in the stone, their hurriedness painting a picture of panic that was made ever the more worrying as Wilbur tensed further. “Okay- okay so…” Wilbur trailed off, swallowed thickly, before trying again. “I’ll a-admit… Do you know what this button is?” The man whispered and Phil nodded gravely.
“Uh huh.” He muttered and Wilbur winced.
“Well- have- have you heard the song?! Cause- cause you know, I was making a point, ‘cause there was a special place but it’s gone now and- and-” Wilbur rambled almost incoherently and Phil couldn’t help but take a step closer.

Big mistake.

Wilbur lurched backwards with a hiss, eyes narrowing, and Phil felt his wings spread a little in response. “Don’t get any closer!” Wilbur shrieked and Phil planted himself where he was.
“Okay. Okay I’m not moving.” The blonde urged quietly, watching as WIlbur calmed down with rasping breaths. “But Wil- your city? Your special place? It’s still here! You just won it back, right?” Phil tried to plead but his son just squeezed his eyes shut.
“Phil I am so close to pressing his button, Phil!” Wilbur suddenly burst out, voice ragged and sharp, and Phil almost flinched at the pain radiating behind his son’s tone. “I have been here… so many times…” He rasped, turning back to the button, and Phil’s eyes widened. A firework then exploded in the distance as the shouts became screams and Phil flinched and glanced up. “They’re fighting Phil!” Wilbur cried, spinning back around with crazed eyes. “They’re still fucking fighting!” He shrieked, a warbling tone to his voice that had Phil’s instincts screaming in distress.
“So you… want to blow it up?” He murmured incredulously, but Wilbur just laughed insanely.
“Yeah- yeah, I really do…” He breathed, turning back to the button almost lovingly, and Phil realised his time was up.

“You know, Phil…” Wilbur murmured and Phil’s wings spread wide, or as wide as they could go in the cramped room, in preparation. “There was a saying… by a traitor.” His son murmured and Phil launched himself forward (“-wait no, son please-!”) as Wilbur turned around to meet his eyes, one hand laying on the button.

“It was never meant to be.”

BOOM

Techno stumbled to the ground as screams erupted all around him, his ears ringing as the earth trembling. Part of the ground he was on crumbled away into nothing and piglin barely heard himself curse as he tumbled down into one of the newly opened chasms. He managed to roll into an outcropping of stone to avoid another explosion, but the concussion force and heat still slammed him against the wall and seared his hair. “Shit.” He hissed, pulling himself up as the explosions eventually faded away.
“Techno!” Dream’s yell came from above and Techno carefully peered upwards to see Dream staring down at him. The man’s mask was cracked down the middle, a chunk to the bottom left taken out if it was enough to just see the man’s mouth turned down in a panicked frown. Upon seeing the hybrid, the man dropped to his stomach and offered an arm and Techno gratefully launched upwards and grabbed it. With Dream pulling him up and the ragged ravine wall creating plenty of footholds, Techno managed to roll over the side a few moments later and laid there panting raggedly for several moments.

“What the fuck happened?!” Techno snarled before throwing himself to his feet and Dream staggered upright to his right.
“I think Wilbur activated the TNT!” The god rasped, coughing behind his mask, and Techno snarled.
“WIL!” Tommy’s sudden shriek echoed off to the side and Techno whipped around. The blonde was staring ahead with horror painted across his face, but when the piglin whipped around, his world narrowed to a deadly point. Phil, his father, what was he doing there?- stood in front of Wilbur, who was brandishing the man’s own sword back at him. He seemed to be laughing, but the tears streaming down his cheeks told an entirely different story. Phil just looked gobsmacked, confused and hurt and terrified all rolled into one package of shock, and Techno gasped out a cry when he spotted Phil’s wing. One was extended and bristling in panic, still an inky black with just a small sheen of purple, but his other one… it was mauled, seared to a charcoal black in places with almost all the bottom feathers burnt off. The inside didn’t look terrible, but the outside was horrific and by the way the blonde was clutching at it, Techno knew it wasn’t just cosmetic damage. “Oh gods.” Dream whispered.

However, Techno never got the chance to do anything. All of a sudden, Wilbur threw the blade at Phil’s feet and the man snatched it, holding it back and away from his son in a display that sent sickening dread turning Techno’s stomach. “Go- Tech, go!” Dream urged the man forward with a panicked breath and Techno didn’t need to be told twice. He rushed forward, leaping over the cragged landscape as Wilbur grew closer, forcing Phil to step back. The words grew clearer and angrier and more terrifying as he approached (“-do it, Phil! DO IT-” “-NO, godsdamnit, you’re my son-!”) but at the speed he was going, Techno let himself hope that he’d make it in time.

But then Wilbur lunged forward.

But then Phil moved the blade in just the wrong way.

Techno heard himself let out an animalistic howl as he watched the blade slide home in Wilbur’s body. It hit his left abdomen, shearing through what Techno knew to be his intestines and potentially his liver as well, and red blood began dripping from the wound. The brunet’s coat grew into a mottled reddish brown, the colour spreading like macabre paint, and a moment later Tommy’s wail of despair echoed from behind them. Blood coughed its way from Wilbur’s mouth as he collapsed, eyes wide, and Phil collapsed with him, trying to support the boy’s body with his own trembling arms. “No- no Wil please- I’m sorry, gods no-” Phil rambled rapidly, letting go of the sword as if it had burned him. The added weight made Wilbur whimper and as Techno landed beside them, he heard Phil’s breaths grow choppy. “Wilbur you idiot.” Techno growled, slamming an ender chest down and rifling through. But as he looked, only more and more strength and speed potions popped up, all his regeneration having been used already, and the hybrid felt the panic claw at his lungs. “S’okay.” Wilbur murmured as Phil sobbed, cradling his son’s head in between his palms. “Sorry.” The brunet managed to gasp, looking Techno dead in the eyes to try and convey all the words he’d never get to say. And then the last breath wooshed from his lips and abruptly, just like that, Wilbur Soot was gone.

Techno sat there for several long moments, trembling from a potent cocktail of emotions and adrenaline that he couldn’t have deciphered if he’d tried. Phil was sobbing into Wilbur’s shoulder, his wings trembling even as shocks of pain from his mangled limb made him flinch every now and then. Tommy was roaring from across the exploded chasm but the hybrid couldn’t get himself to look up. Chat was uncharacteristically silent in his head, not even a soft murmur to announce their presence, and for once Techno found their silence to be more panic inducing than not. “Oh no… please!” Phil cried, harrowing bird-like shrieks and grieving warbles spilling from his lips as his control shattered. Techno’s instincts however, weren’t grieving. No, that loss simply turned to rage and the man felt himself stand a moment later. It was as if he wasn’t inside his body, merely a watcher from the outside as he mined his ender chest and clambered back across the landscape. Getting to a relatively flat piece of grass, Techno found himself opening his enderchest and peering inside-

“Techno, stop!” Tommy suddenly cried and Techno blinked back into awareness to the rocky feeling of a wither skeleton skull in his hand, his eyes staring at two half-finished monuments of soul sand. Chat had seemingly woken back up, screaming out their anger to the world, and Techno had a sudden moment of terrified clarity to think that Chat hadn’t managed to take over his body in years. But then the anger and rage took over again, the man’s rational thought sinking under an ocean of combined grief and Chat’s overwhelming wrath, and no-one was close enough to see Techno’s normally burgundy-red eyes turn a bright, searing shade like the colour of freshly spilt blood. “Do you fancy yourself a hero, Tommy?” Techno sneered, glancing over his shoulder at his younger (‘-and only-’ his mind cruelly whispered) brother. Tommy was staring at him with an uncharacteristically lost expression marring his face, tears streaking down his cheeks, but a moment later it closed off into stubborn determination and the last flame of hope Techno had for his family blew out softly, like a candle in a soft breeze.

“What-?” Tommy tried but Techno spun around with a snarl.
“Do you think you’re a hero?!” He roared and the blonde flinched.
“I- I just- I just wanted L’Manberg!” The boy cried, eyes wide with primal terror and confusion, but Techno was done. He’d tried so hard to protect his brother, to curb Wilbur’s insanity and to help them, and what did they do?! Wilbur killed himself on their father’s blade, spiralling the blonde into a pit of guilt, the rest of Pogtopia had betrayed him by not abolishing the system which had created the mess, but just… propagating it, and now Tommy, his last remaining brother- Techno hissed in a sharp breath between his teeth as a growl ripped its way from his throat. It was noise full of anger and threat and danger and Tommy evidently recognised it, if the way he shrunk back several steps was anything to go by. “You just wanted power.” He hissed but Tommy shook his head rapidly.
“No! I just- I just wanted L’Manberg!” He cried and Techno felt his anger morph into something more incredulous as the denial grew stronger.
“Tommy, you just executed a coup! You just did a hostile government takeover and then instilled your best friend as president! And you say you’re not a tyrant?!” Techno cried, almost laughing from incredulousness.

Tommy looked even more confused, as if he’d never thought of that before, but Techno abruptly decided that it wasn’t his place to try and educate the boy anymore. He was done. “You know, Tommy. You heard of Theseus?” He asked and the blonde blinked at him. “Well, he was a hero too. He saved his country, killed the minotaur, and guess what? He was exiled. He died in disgrace.” Techno seethed and Tommy flinched. “That’s what happens to heroes, Tommy.” Techno turned back to his statues, standing and waiting for the final little push, and his mind solidified itself into the course of action ahead of him. Chat was almost entirely holding the reins but for once, Techno couldn’t have cared less. “But if you want to be a hero Tommy, then that’s fine…” He murmured, peering down at the delicate skull in his hand. Several more were lined up and waiting and he fished them out one by one, placing them down so that only two heads remained. “Technoblade don’t!” Tommy cried then, as if he had the right, and those words were the sparks that lit the fuse.
“If you want to be a hero, Tommy…

“...then die like one!”

At the same time the skulls slammed home, the wither’s cries exploding into the air as screams rose to join them, and as Techno watched the monstrous creatures race towards those he’d called his friends, he pushed down the lingering guilt and readied his axe. “They deserved it.” He growled, rushing forward to join the fray.

(But in the part of his mind that wasn’t consumed by wrath cried at the betrayal and sobbed at the opportunities lost even as it was consumed by the blood his spirits craved oh so much.)

Chapter Text

Fundy trailed after the destruction caused by Quackity, trying not to breathe through the stench of burning beef. He’d managed to sequester away a single terrified cow, hiding it behind a thick layer of dirt before Quackity got to it, but the rest… Fundy shuddered. “C’mon man! It’s only fair!” Quackity laughed mockingly as he dived into the lake hiding Technoblade’s not-so-hidden bunker and Fundy reluctantly followed, if only to keep the chaos to a minimum. He could still remember when the piglin used to shield him from his father’s wrath and Tommy’s judgemental stares down in Pogtopia and the thought of destroying the man’s home sat so badly with his instincts that Fundy’s ears had been permanently pinned to the back of his head the entire time.

Dropping into the small water pool, Fundy stepped into the cramped bunker and immediately winced. Quackity had raided several chests already, loading goodies into a sack on his back, and the entrance to the bunker below was completely blown open. It was clear several others had been there before them; the lantern on the ceiling was barely clinging on to a single cinch in the chain and neither Quackity nor Fundy had carried any TNT with them to cause the explosion that had revealed the even more hidden bunker. Several chests had collapsed down to their foundations, their contents rotting on the floor, and Fundy winced and tried not to breathe too deeply to avoid throwing up. “Oi, Fundy! Go check the lower bunker, would you?” Quackity called, his head deep into a chest as she shovelled items out, and Fundy sighed before going to do just that.

However, Fundy barely managed to take two steps from the ladder into the deeper bunker before a strangely familiar scent smacked him in the face. Freezing, Fundy took a long, deep breath and frowned when he realised it was the same scent he’d picked up on during the day of the Revolution. However, he’d smelt it clinging to Techno instead of saturating the bunker. Following the scent like a bloodhound, Fundy eventually found himself staring at one of the walls in the back corner. Scanning it, the fox hybrid tilted his head when he realised there was a slight seam between some of the obsidian and he traced it with his fingers.

And then he heard it.

A little sniffle and a whine echoed from behind the wall, so quiet that if Fundy had been a regular human, he wouldn’t ever have noticed it. Freezing, Fundy shifted his weight back and forth as he decided on what to do. “Hello?” He called tentatively, but all at once the sounds vanished and Fundy sighed. For a moment he was tempted to leave, to ignore what he’d heard and remain secure in the knowledge that Quackity would never hear it. But then the thought of there being a poor animal locked behind that wall for potentially days hit (since he’d seen the state Techno had been in when Phil had managed to drag him away and it had not been pretty) and Fundy growled at himself. “Fine.” He muttered before stealing a stray diamond pickaxe from a nearby chest and beginning to dig.

Five minutes later and Fundy grunted as he managed to break open a hole big enough to peer into the room. However, its appearance caught the fox short. Instead of a room fit to house what he’d assumed had been a dog, it instead looked like a bedroom. There was a small bed pressed up in the far right corner and a low table was in the opposite corner. There was a chest filled with some kind of fabric at the bottom of the bed and a small lantern lit the room in a warm glow. However, it was the scared whimpers from under the bed that caught Fundy’s attention. “Hello?” He called, squeezing through the small hole and creeping further into the room. The snuffling stopped, followed by heavy breathing, and Fundy frowned as he dropped to his hands and knees to peer under the bed. “Hey, it’s okay I’m not-” But then he cut himself off with an inhale, as staring back at him wasn’t a scared animal, but a child. They glared at him with wide, terrified eyes, huddled into the back corner, and Fundy found himself frozen in shock. Their curly hair was a light shade of pink, their eyes a gleaming gold, and there were strange purple patterns around their ears that Fundy couldn’t quite decipher in the low light. But one thing was clear; they looked too much like Techno to be a coincidence.

“Oh gods.” Fundy breathed, but the little child just pressed themselves further into the corner, their expression a picture of terror. Suddenly all the disappearances from Techno made so much damning sense. He wasn’t grinding that whole time, as the Pogtopians had assumed; no, he’d been returning to look after his child. And based on the size of them, they couldn’t have been more than three years old. ‘Which means they wouldn’t have even been two years old when the disappearances started.’ Fundy’s mind murmured and the fox took a deep, steadying breath.
“Fundy?! You coming?!” Quackity’s voice caused both Fundy and the child to jump and all of a sudden dread dropped into Fundy’s stomach. He knew what L’Manburg would do to this child, so soon after the destruction. It was a toss up whether Tommy would claim the kid as some kind of replacement for Wilbur, and Nikki would surely try to intervene to protect them, but the others would be baying for blood. The last year had been hell for Fundy, but Techno had been the only one to make it better and right then and there, Fundy decided that Tech- no, his uncle didn’t deserve that. “Hey, little cousin.” Fundy whispered, catching the child’s attention. “Shh.” He put a finger to his lips and the child blinked at him. However, after a moment they shakily copied him and Fundy had to fight the urge to grin and potentially scare them with his rather sharp fox canines. “Don’t make a noise.” Fundy whispered before carefully heading back to the wall. Climbing through, Fundy glanced back to see the child peeking out from under the bed and the fox hybrid couldn’t resist waving. The child blinked before a tiny smile lit up their face as they waved back and Fundy felt warmth bloom in his chest as he quickly covered the hole back up.

“FUNDY!” Quackity yelled down the ladder and Fundy’s ears flattened as he winced. Sending a quick glance back at his handiwork to make sure the wall looked normal, the fox quickly grabbed a few spare pieces of diamond armour, plus the pickaxe he’d used, and hauled himself back up. “Here!” He called, only to almost collide with Quackity as he left the ladder.
“Finally man! You took your time- is that it?!” The man grouched and Fundy sighed and nodded his head.
“Yeah. It was wiped out. This was everything.” Fundy explained, a hand behind his back clenched into the sign for luck. Thankfully, Quackity seemed to accept that readily and he sighed, grabbing some armour and stomping off, and Fundy sighed shakily in relief and forced himself to follow. However, his mind couldn’t forget the golden eyes staring back at him and suddenly, his appreciation for Techno and things he’d done for them swelled. “I’m sorry, uncle.”

Dream rocketed into the underground bunker, almost stumbling from his weak ankle. He’d only just managed to heal it enough to be able to escape any pursuers on it and with the L’Manburgians crawling across the countryside like a pack of murderous ants, the god wasn’t taking any chances. Creeping into the space, Dream felt his rage boil when he saw the destruction that had been wrought. The whole bunker had been gutted down to its foundations, books ripped from their shelves and some entirely destroyed, chests left as metal husks, and most of the items had long since been stolen. Never before had Dream felt so much dread in that place, which had been his safe haven for over a year by then, and that thought brought a snarl to his lips.

“Arielle!” He yelled, jumping down the blown up hole into the bottom bunker. It looked no better than above and Dream all but collided with the wall that hid the most precious thing to him away. However, when he got there the very breath froze in his lungs as he realised it had been tampered with. The stone was rough along the edge in a way he’d taken care to avoid and some of it was crumbling away. “Oh gods- Arielle!” Dream yelled again, grabbing his pickaxe and slamming it into the stone. It crumbled effortlessly in a way obsidian should never do and Dream launched himself through the hole. “Dee!” Dream felt the relief sweep through him as Arielle scrambled out from under the bed and slammed into his legs. “Dee!” The little girl cried and the god swept her up into his arms to try and settle his shaking limbs. 
“Ari- Ari, are you okay? Who got in here?” Dream questioned desperately and Arielle blinked at him for a second before smiling.
“Fox!” She chirped and Dream paused.
“A fox got in?” He reiterated, a little bewildered, but Arielle just nodded.
“Mhm. Was nice.” Dream breathed out a shaky sigh and laughed lightly. His grin only widened when Arielle shrieked in joy and unclipped the mask from his face, but she quietened when his forehead dropped against her own. “Well done, Ari. You were very brave.” Dream whispered and Ari giggled.

Pulling back, Dream let out a shaky breath that took most of his tension with it before beginning to climb back up the ladder. “Where goin’?” Arielle chirped as they headed towards the water stream and Dream grinned down at her as he carefully took his mask back. 
“We’re going to your Papa, Ari.” That got a shriek of glee and Dream chuckled before throwing himself into the water stream, Arielle secure in his arms. “He’s got someone he’d like you to meet.”

Techno glanced at his father on the bed, the man still curled up with his wings hiding him from view. The right one was bandaged heavily with as many potions as Techno had on him, which admittedly hadn’t been much, but as the hours passed, the wing still didn’t look much better. Techno was just hoping beyond hope that the injury hadn’t been permanent; some wounds just wouldn’t heal fully no matter what, even with the aid of potions or magic like the Mending enchantment. They usually occurred from traumatic instances that managed to affect the fabric of someone’s reality and Techno wished for nothing more than his father not having to deal with a reminder of his son’s assisted suicide for the rest of his life. 

Hissing out a breath between his teeth, Techno tried not to itch at his own bandages as he placed a cup of tea down by his father’s bedside. He was resolutely not thinking about Wilbur, not thinking about watching the light fade from his eyes, as every time he did, Chat was rumbled into wakefulness and Techno’s desperately clawed back control would waver. Instead, he tried to keep himself as busy as possible while looking after his father. However, the itch in the back of his mind demanding him to go out and locate his daughter and bring her back to safety was growing by the hour and only the knowledge that Dream was out there at that very moment to do just that stayed his hand. 

“Phil, you gotta’ eat something, man.” Techno tried to urge, but Phil just curled up tighter. He’d barely moved once the adrenaline had crashed; he only had enough energy to get himself and Techno to a small cave before the events of that day had crashed down on the avian’s shoulders and rendered him catatonic. The fact that he was responding at all was an improvement and Techno thanked his instincts for snapping him from his funk in order to keep his father safe, instead of letting him fight himself to death. He didn’t think Phil would have coped if that had been the case. ‘Not that he’s coping now, anyway…’ Sighing, Techno propped his injured leg up so the pressure was released and stared at the door, waiting and hoping that Dream and his daughter would come through it.

However, another hour passed in silence and Techno felt his expression twisting in worry as he fidgeted. “What are you waiting for?” Phil suddenly asked out of the blue, voice still muffled beneath his wings, and Techno jumped with a curse and nearly threw his tea across the hovel they were hiding in.
“Phil! Damnit, Phil, you scared the shit outta’ me!” Techno ranted and was gratified to see his father’s wings recede a little so the dirty blonde of his hair was visible.
“Sorry mate.” Phil whispered and Techno sighed.
“I’m waiting for Dream.” That had Phil perking up a little and he tilted his head to the side, his blue eyes glinting out from the darkness of his self-made cocoon.
“We gotta’ make sure you’re registered as an actual player.” Techno explained and Phil hummed. However, then there was a knock at the door and a little girl’s voice echoed through the wood. Techno perked up immediately and even Phil shifted, frowning at the unfamiliar voice. “Who’s that?” He asked and Techno grinned with a mixture of excitement and nervousness before turning to his father as the door swung open.
“Phil, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Chapter Text

Techno grinned in relief as Dream swung the door open, revealing his maskless self and the little girl safe and sound in his arms. His mask was firmly in her grip as usual, but the moment she spotted Techno walking towards her, it dropped immediately as her arms reached for him. “Papa!” She shrieked, almost blowing out his eardrums, but Techno just laughed and swept her into his arms. He absently registered Phil’s gobsmacked gasp behind him, but he was more concerned with checking every inch of his daughter while she giggled in his arms. “Are you alright, Arielle?” He asked and his little girl beamed up at him.
“Yeah! Met fox!” She chirped and Techno shot a startled glance at Dream, who shrugged.
“Apparently a fox got into her little bunker.” The god explained as he shut the door behind him and Techno’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline.
“...Those walls were solid obsidian, Dream.” Techno drawled and Dream snorted.
“Oh I know. But according to Ari, that’s what happened.” Techno glanced back down at his daughter, who seemed quite happy to smoosh her face into his chest and cling on like a monkey, and Techno smiled softly at her.

The deeper, more piglin side of his instincts was all but purring with his daughter back in his arms and Techno didn’t realise how badly it was impacting his control to not have his little girl by his side. Without any kind of reassurance that she was alright, Techno’s mind had been turning over in circles and combined with his recently shattered strength over Chat’s overzealousness, that wasn’t turning out to be a good combination. But now, just holding his daughter in his arms again, felt like a release he’d been craving and suddenly it felt like Techno could take the first deep breath in days.

“You didn’t have any issues getting here?” Techno asked Dream after a moment and the god shook his head as he perched on a nearby ramshackle chest and ignored the way it creaked ominously beneath his weight.
“Nope. Luckily there’s not enough of them yet to organise a proper net search.” Dream explained and Techno hummed.
“...Tech?” Techno stiffened as Phil’s hoarse voice finally piped up behind him. Dream’s head snapped over there and so did Arielle’s, who stared at the stranger with wide and slightly nervous golden eyes. “Who-” Phil cut himself off with a swallow and Techno slowly wandered over to him. The blonde man’s eyes were fixed on the little girl in his arms, Arielle watching him back, and Techno hoped and prayed that his daughter would get on with his father; it would be a disaster if she didn’t. “Phil, this is my daughter and your granddaughter, Arielle.” Techno introduced and heard Phil’s breath stutter in his lungs as his eyes widened.
“Arielle.” Techno called and the little girl’s stare snapped to him. “This is your grandpa Phil.” Techno introduced and Arielle frowned.
“Grandpa?” She asked and Techno smiled.
“He’s my Papa, like I’m yours.” Techno explained and Arielle’s face lit up.
“Oh!” She chirped before spinning around to face Phil. The man had climbed half out of the bed, looking more aware than he had been for hours, and Techno breathed a sigh of relief at the heartbreaking wonder on the man’s face. 

Techno gently placed Arielle down on the bed in front of Phil, the pair of them staring at each other with very different expressions. Arielle’s was open and curious in a way only a small child could pull off, while Phil looked as if he was having some kind of religious experience. But then, when Techno remembered what had happened with Fundy, how Phil hadn’t met Fundy more than a handful of times due to Wilbur’s travels, how he’d never gotten to be a grandfather to the boy, Techno wasn’t surprised. “Hi Arielle.” Phil whispered and the little girl blinked at him before beaming.
“Hi Grandpa!” She chirped and Phil laughed breathlessly. He held out his arms for her and Arielle didn’t disappoint, running straight into them and nuzzling her nose into his neck to take in his scent, just like Techno had done to Phil oh so long ago. Phil seemed to realise it too, as tears began trickling down his cheeks as he hugged the little girl to him. “Thank you.” Phil choked and Arielle frowned before hugging the man as tight as she could around his neck.
“Hugs make feel better!” She frowned, hugging with all her strength, and Phil sobbed as Techno and Dream watched on with sad smiles.
“Thank you.”

An hour later Phil held Arielle as Techno secured a pair of rushed winter boots onto her feet. Arielle giggled and kicked a little, but Techno just pinned her with an amused eyebrow until she pouted and held still. “Come on Arielle.” He chided but Arielle just stuck her tongue out.
“Come on Papa.” She parroted and Phil chuckled.
“This one’ll be a little terror like you, mate.” He grinned and Techno shot him a droll look to hide the momentous waves of crashing relief at seeing his father smiling again. The piglin hybrid didn’t doubt that Phil wasn’t okay and wouldn’t be a for a long time, but seeing him aware and smiling again instead of the comatose state he’d been in before was such a relief for his son that Techno felt the last remaining tension from his loss of control drain away like flood water down a drain.

Dream popped his head back into the cave-turned-house a few moments later and chucked an iron helmet at Techno, who caught it deftly. “It’s the best I could do for Phil at short notice.” Dream explained and Phil nodded at the man in thanks. They traded then, Techno taking Arielle while Phil fiddled with the helmet on his head, before eventually all three men and the little girl they loved were ready to move out. “Papa, where we goin’?” Arielle asked as they began to head towards three freshly tamed and saddled horses and Techno glanced down at her.
“We’re going to find a new home, Arielle.” Techno explained as he handed her to Dream. The hybrid swung up on his horse a moment later before accepting Arielle back and Dream quickly went to help Phil up on his own steed; having a painful and immovable wing on his back wasn’t exactly conducive to acrobatic manoeuvres. “No bunker?” Arielle whimpered, eyes wide, and Techno winced.
“I’m sorry Arielle, but it’s too dangerous now.” Arielle pouted and Techno sighed. “But if we had to live anywhere, where would you live?” Techno asked to distract her as they all set off and Arielle’s face grew thoughtful.
“Um. Don’ know.” She murmured and Techno chuckled. “But- but we have snow?” She asked and Techno’s eyebrows raised.
“Snow? You want a place with snow?” He asked and Arielle nodded rapidly. Techno just chuckled then and made sure his grip on the girl was secure as they picked up the pace, Arielle yelping a little as the horse beneath her settled into a steady canter. “Okay, we’ll make sure it has at least a little snow.” Techno promised and Arielle cheered.

Three days of travel later and with a grumpy Arielle in tow, the three men halted in the centre of a snowy plains and peered across the landscape ahead of them. There was a nice, sheltered outcropping near a mountain with snowy forests in front of them and having explored a little, the group knew there was also an untouched village no more than half an hour or so away. However, the best part by far was that it was so far away from L’Manberg that the chances of being discovered were incredibly slim. ‘Perfect.’ Techno’s mind whispered, Chat piping up with shouted agreements, but what sealed the deal was Techno’s instincts purring and rumbling in contentment as he stared across the landscape that could become their new home.

“You like this place, mate?” Phil asked from where he was riding to Techno’s left and the man nodded.
“You sure you’ll be fine in all the snow? Y’know, for a piglin?” Dream ribbed to his right and Techno scowled as his leg kicked out, grazing the side of Dream’s horse. The animal immediately pranced away with a snort, almost unseating Dream who yelped in alarm, and the father and son chuckled as Arielle giggled. “Snow!” She chirped, beaming at the glistening white plains, and the men shared an amused look.
“Well that cements it, I suppose. This is home.” Techno announced and dared to let himself hope that they could finally live in peace for a long while.

BadBoyHalo hummed to himself as he carved out his new little mining outpost, the repetitive motions soothing the tension he’d been dealing with for almost a week by that point. Sapnap had only just recovered enough to the point where he could walk around on his own around their house and finally Bad had taken the opportunity to get out. He loved Sapnap, he really did, but hearing him complain about the war and then about Dream for hours on end would grind on anyone’s patience, let alone a demonic entity who had very little patience to begin with. Bad had clawed every ounce of patience and control back from his wrathful nature for centuries before he’d felt safe to emerge into the world and live amongst the mortals and he would not risk that, not even for Sapnap.

Sighing as his thoughts took a dark turn, Bad went to place his pickaxe down before a faint whisper caught his sensitive ears. Freezing, Bad waited and listened until it happened again and he tensed. “What- hello?” He called, spinning around in his small tunnel. The whisper occurred again from his left and Bad headed over and pressed his ear to the cool stone. The whisper was louder there, almost sounding like it was beckoning him forward, and Bad frowned. Something within him was telling him to run the other way, but his compassion couldn’t help but worry that it was one of his friends down there, hurt and suffering in a cave somewhere behind that wall, and Bad couldn’t just leave them.  

Hefting his pickaxe, Bad began drilling back through the wall and the further he got, the louder the whispers became. They beckoned to him, drawing him in, and Bad barely noticed how as he grew closer, the stone around him began to look tinged in a faint but deep shade of red. “Hello?!” The demon called out again, only to break through a final piece of stone and stumble with a yelp. A huge, dark cavernous space stretched out in front of him, covered in some strange red flora, and Bad peered around with wide eyes. “What the-?” He murmured as he hopped down into the space and wandered forward. Red vines seemed to litter the floor, crisscrossing through the stone, and the air smelt sweet like nectar. It was so dark that without Bad’s advanced vision, he knew he would have been completely blind, and the man crouched down and ran a hand across the vines. They felt smooth but feathered, like they had hair, and Bad recoiled with a grimace. “Hello-?” He tried again as he stood up, but as if that was the key, the whispers, suddenly so much louder than before, returned. He could barely hear himself think over them and Bad stumbled to his knees with a cry as his hands clutched at his head “Please- stop!” He screamed and all at once, the cacophony ceased.

Bad breathed raggedly as he tried to recover from the ringing in his ears. The whispers came back slowly that time, teasing at the edge of his mind, and Bad’s head slowly lifted as he felt something in front of him shift. Eyes wide, Bad’s gaze settled on a large, red thing in front of him that was deeply rooted into the stone. It seemed like a pod, or egg of some kind, and Bad shivered as the whispers picked up when he had that thought. “Oh Bad, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” He whispered to himself, unable to tear his eyes away, and the whispers just laughed at him.

With a sudden vwoop and an explosion of purple dust, a young teen dropped heavily to the ground with a retch. Gasping through the nausea, they clutched at their chest with long fingers and just tried to breathe. Their eyes scanned the sky above them, partially obscured by leaves, but they barely saw that as they tried to reorganise their thoughts. However, as they did so, they realised that something was wrong. Their memories were patchy at best, their mind shredded as if someone had punched a lot of holes directly into it, and the boy whimpered and clutched at his head. “What- who?” They rasped, almost startling at the sound of their own voice. It sounded alien, high and thready in their panic, but Ranboo pushed that to the back of their mind-

They froze. “Ranboo.” They murmured, feeling the name settle into their bones as something lost clicked back into place. “My name is Ranboo.” They- no, Ranboo announced, his voice echoing through the woods, and the boy finally relaxed with a sigh as their panic and anxiety dropped back down to manageable levels. Stumbling to his feet, Ranboo peered through the greenery and paused when he spotted some kind of ramshackle, falling-to-pieces wall just beyond the trees. “Well, time to figure out where I am this time.” He murmured before slowly beginning to trek to find civilization, his form blurring and disappearing into the gloom of the trees.