Chapter Text
Techno was just about done with the world trying to beat him down.
He could so clearly remember that prison, that fucking prison. Remembered the stench of blood and dried crimson flaking from the obsidian walls. Remembered the little green Teletubby who looked so small and weak, body covered in scars and wounds and eyes so dim and helpless as he gazed upon Techno.
It made him want to save the man all the more, their debt be damned, and all he could do was wrap the admin in his cloak and murmured soft words of comfort. He let his rival use him as a sort of crutch, cry into his shirt and scream and rant about the injustices dealt to the man. He sat in that cell for 3 horrible months, thanks to Philza's time blindness, and plotted the ways he could absolutely ruin those who hurt Dream.
When Ranboo died, when he watched Sam sink that sword through his delicate flesh and the heartlessness in his eyes as the Enderman-hybrid fell into the water, lifeless, Techno thought he would at least have the time to properly mourn. He got what he wanted, he got Dream out and away from Pandora.
He brought the man to his home in the arctic, scrambling for regen and health pots to help heal the man wounds weeping on his body. When he's used as many as he could without fear of an overdose, he soaked some bandages in the potions and wrapped what couldn't heal. Philza appeared shortly after, informing him of the mass of people who were planning on visiting them up in their retirement home and looking for a certain green gremlin.
In a show of sheer stupidity, Techno let Dream slip out into the harsh snowy landscape with a chest plate and Netherite ax, a way to preserve their bond for future use. They could claim that Techno only busted him out of the prison out of a desire to uphold his favor and keep his word, plain and simple.
Techno resented the idea, the fact that he couldn't openly support his friend out of fear that he'd put his own life at risk. While he didn't actually care, Dream did. Dream, for as much as the server loved to paint him as the big bad, cared so much about people and would do anything to prevent them from being hurt.
"Quackity, to what do I owe the honor of their visit," he forced out through gritted teeth, smiling tightly, all the while chat screamed for the blood of the man who played a part in the torture of his friend.
As he gazed at the jagged scar that ran up the right side of his face and over his eye, which had been sewn shut, his chat screamed for blood, to blind him completely. Quackity gave a tightened smile, and what bit of teamwork they'd built through Dream – Quackity out of guilt and Techno out of care – was long forgotten.
"I've volunteered to search your house for a certain missing prisoner," Quackity said with all the air of a casino owner primed to scam people out of their money.
"I didn't do all of this to be dragged out of retirement," Techno grumbled, trying desperately to keep up his nonchalant appearance while seething inside. "I can assure you I'm not stupid enough to house an escapee."
"I'm sure, I don't doubt your intelligence, but it's just a precaution," Quackity shrugged, an apologetic smile on his face. With a frustrated huff, the brute stepped aside and let the duck-hybrid into his home, silently debating how bad things would be if he sunk his sword into his back and sliced off his baby wings. Bad. "But rest assured, I'm not actually here to search your house,"
"Huh?" Techno blinked, stared in absolute shock at the man who now shuffled awkwardly in his doorway, eyes darting about in paranoia.
"Who do you think sent you that letter? Who do you think allowed those blueprints to leave the prison? Why do you think I never once visited while you were stuck there? I may have let myself take my frustrations out on Dream, and I will never be able to atone for that, but I can try." Quackity swallowed down sharply, eyes filled with tears and grief and guilt. "I don't care if he's here or not, I hope you can keep him safe. I'm going to do my best to keep Dream safe from my position at Sam's side,"
"Why?"
"Because… because I don't want to be the monster everyone convinced themselves he was, I don't want to be that monster," Quackity dropped his head, thick raven hair falling into his eyes. Techno said nothing, mouth clamped shut tightly in shock. Although the hybrid did not say his name explicitly, the pink-haired male found his mind thinking of a certain Ram.
"Look, I still don't like you, nor do I trust you. But, for my sake, I'll continue to work with you." Techno rolled his eyes at chat's screams, clearly upset at the idea of such a vile creature who'd wrong not only Techno himself, but those who he loved, not being punished. "Now if you want to keep your teeth intact, you'll turn around and go report this house clear,"
With a jerk of his head, fear ever present in his remaining eye, the duck quickly stumbled out of the house, not once looking back as he put back on that false vibrato. Techno, in no way forgave Quackity, clearly remembered the feeling of an anvil crashing against his skull, but could see the way his actions weighed on his shoulder helplessly.
“Calm down, we’ll deal with it soon enough,” Techno grumbled, running his hand down his face. Philza, who’d chosen to stay over and keep him company, poked his head around the corner, eyes wide with worry. “We’ve got a certain avian on our side for now, but fuck if i know how long it’ll last or if he’d being genuine,”
“Ah,” As expected, he could see the conflict on the older man's face. On one hand, Phil had always been more drawn to other avians, and although not close with Quackity, his wings and bird-like tendencies made him naturally more liked by the crow. On the other hand, it’d been that same duck who’d hurt them so much, so he had little respect from the minecraft family, with the exception of maybe Tommy.
“I’m just waiting for this to blow over a bit so we can find Dream again and save him once more,” Techno joked softly, and he hoped that the admin would be willing to revive Ranboo as he’d done to Tommy and Wilbur. Phil huffed softly and came to wrap an arm around his shoulder, leading him to the kitchen, where he’d already prepared some tea. As the aroma of hibiscus tea and bread hit his nose, Techno sighed and allowed himself to relax some.
“Things are going to be just fine, mate,” he assured, but he found it difficult to believe him, a pit forming in his gut the more he thought about the little homeless menace currently fending for himself out there.
‘Homeless! He should be with us!”
‘Blood, Quackity’s blood!’
‘The Teletubby is in danger’
‘Techno soft’
‘dAnGer!’
Techno did his best to ignore it, upping his defenses and setting up a red stone room in the basement so that, should Dream accept his help, there’d be a place for him where he’d feel safe. It didn’t exactly make him less concerned, but the chat had helped distract him with a plan to make Sam pay for his crimes.
Quackity may have taken his frustration out on the blond in the form of sharp kicks and harsh punches, but it was Sam who did far, far worse. Although neither man admitted to the things the Warden had done, he could see the signs in the way Dream held himself, how his wide eyes held a certain grief that could only come from losing something so great.
His communicator pinged loudly, drawing his attention to the device on his wrist. He peaked at it, a frown on his face when he saw just who was messaging him.
‘Dream whispered to Technoblade: Help.’
‘Dream whispered to Technoblade: Warden found me. Hurt me. Hurt heur pelase’
‘Dream whispered to Technoblade: Can’t feel legs, can’t feel.’
Fuck.
‘Technoblade whispered to Dream: Where are you? What happened’
‘Dream whispered to Technoblade: Hurt. Warden was mad and hurt me, stabbed me lots, it hurts tech. He did bad things.’
‘Technoblade whispered to Dream: Are you safe?’
‘Dream whispered to Technoblade: I think. Hurt. Dying.’
‘Technoblade whispered to Dream: Send me your cords, i’ll be there soon and i’ll help you,’
Techno was already rushing to the front door, snatching his cloak from the hook and tossing it over his shoulders, still dressed in a casual shirt and sleep pants. His heart pounded loudly in his chest, especially when he saw Dream’s cords sent to the server as a whole. He ran to his horse and hoisted himself up, taking off with a snap of the reins. He could not let a single other person get to Dream before him, could not let him die to someone like Sapnap or god forbid Sam. techno was not stupid, and he could only speculate what ‘bad things’ meant in comparison to everything else he’d suffered through.
Inside his head was a loud, chaotic mess, chat absolutely enraged by the idea that, after everything they went through and lost, Dream still died to the hands of his worst abuser. At the thought of Sam plunging his sword into Dream's chest while the man lay helpless awaiting the piglin-hybrid to save him, Techno growled low in his throat and spurred Carl faster. Icy wind stabbed at his face and whipped through his pink hair, which had been let down from its usual braid. Come on. As his trusty horse led him into a dense mushroom forest, he let out an audible gasp when he noticed the unmoving lump hidden partially under a mushroom.
“Dream?” he hopped down from Carl and approached the man with a desperation he didn’t realize himself capable of. To his immense relief, two tired green eyes cracked open, and while they swirled with pain and fear, recognition remained present. Techno didn’t allow himself to focus on the ripped pants around his legs, the blood, and bruises visible on his thighs and waist through the tears, especially the clear-ish fluid already drying on his skin.
“Tech, you came,” Dream murmured with absolute awe, as if he truly expected to be left to rot, to die all alone. It was then he noticed the potion effects, the sickness on his chin and the way his body twitched and jerked painfully. Poison.
“Of course, I got you now, nerd,” Techno smiled despite himself, despite the obvious lie that hung heavily over their heads as he moved to cradle the admin in his arms. Blood soaked into his white sleeping gown, and he sort of wanted to cry all over him. Dream smiled weakly, and despite the gaping wound in his stomach and the signs of something worse covering his body as he slowly died of poison, he looked relieved.
“I’m sorry,” He mumbled, biting his lip to hold back a sob. With trembling fingers, Dream pulled out a leather-bound book, shoving it into his side when it became clear that the pink-haired man wanted to hold him a little longer. “Sorry i– messed up so much. Ruined it.” blood wet his lips as he coughed, lungs sounding like they were filled with the stuff. They probably were.
“No, you did what you thought was best. Everyone played a part,” Techno soothed, and he had been removed enough from the situation long enough to realize that everyone in this godforsaken server had contributed to its pitiful downfall into war and violence.
Yet, somehow, it was only Dream who faced the repercussions.
Dream only shook his head, tears streaming down his pale cheeks, fingers digging into the soft fabric of his gown. He gasped and choked slightly, and techno frantically searched his inventory for a healing potion. “N-no!”
“Dream, I know you liked burning in prison like a psycho, but you will die,” The fact that a healing potion would not counter his poison went unsaid, but Dream gave him a look far too close to understanding for the man currently dying.
"Let them see," was all he said, fully aware he was going to die no matter what. Rather than help the process go as painlessly as possible, he wanted proof of his mistreatment, of the unspeakable things his once friends had allowed to happen to this server's admin. "That's all I can do now. Sorry you're stuck,"
Techno wanted to ask more, but the weight of that book promised to him that he would have his answers soon enough. For now, he forced his mouth into a teasing smile and blinked rapidly to push back the burning in his eyes. He squeezed gently, a reminder of warmth and care and a bond formed between the once rivals. Dream smiled, eyes lidded and unseeing, but through the pain he knew that he was not alone. For a year he'd spent his time in an obsidian box with no one, and now, as he died, he'd finally been given what he'd wanted so desperately. A friend. Affection. Understand.
"Goodbye, Dream," he mumbled, beyond grateful at the blissful silence from his chat, every single person stunned into silence. The man in his arms let out one final exhale, chest falling for the last time as he fell completely still.
‘Dream was killed by magic’
He wouldn’t deny that tears spilled down his face and hit the man’s cheeks like raindrops, a weather pattern he’d been deprived of seeing for a year, and would never experience again.
Fuck.
Fuck.
Techno brought him closer, no longer having to worry about causing him more pain as he buried his nose into his messy hair, the faint strawberry shampoo he’d used during the initial clean up still there. It only made him cry more, teeth sinking into his bottom lip. He didn’t react to the sounds of footsteps, didn’t care that there were more than one and coming from two different directions.
"Techno," he hardly raised his head, blood-red eyes filled with a special sort of resentment as he saw his youngest brother, that fucking ax in his hand and eyes glued to the bloodied corpse, like he was disappointed to have been beaten. Sapnap stumbled into the clearing seconds later, frantic and fearful, until he saw them. Techno watched the grief and horror cross his face, the edges of his bandana coming alight before going out.
"What…"
"The bitch is dead," Tommy huffed, quickly looking away from his body with a certain air of uncomfortability. Look at him, he wanted to scream, look at the human being you've sentenced to death and worse.
"No, no, no, no," Sapnap shook his head, hardly making a couple of steps forward before being met with the sharp end of a sword, techno's eyes reflecting his deadly intentions regardless of his tear soaked face. "Please, fuck, that's my brother,"
"A brother you threatened to kill," techno pointed out lazily, and they all ignored the slight crack in his normally monotone voice.
"Techno, you've tried to kill me! Fuck, you're holding my abuser like he's not a monster," Tommy pointed out, but he didn't look all too happy about the fact either of them cared for Dream.
"Look, Tommy, I'm not going to sit here and claim Dream is a perfect person who needs to be forgiven, because it ain't true. He was having a mental breakdown and made it everyone's problem. He hurt you, and you have every right to hate him," Techno sighed, the tears subsiding for the most part. “But just like you didn’t deserve that abuse, neither did he,”
“Like fuck he didn’t. How do you know it ain’t just some elaborate ploy for pity–”
“He’s fucking dead, Tommy!” Techno spat, harshly cutting the teen off as another wave of grief and anger slammed into his chest, chat calling for the blonds blood for daring to say Dream deserved all that happened. “ Look at him, ”
And he did, looked at the wound and lifeless expression on his face, eyes gazing up at the sky he’d been deprived of for so, so long. Look at his bruises, fresh and ugly along his throat and wrists and waist and thighs. Looked at the way his pants had been torn with force, at the pathetic attempt at mending it anyway just enough to escape, and the bodily fluids that dried on his skin like a skin mural.
Tommy took all of it in, the realization that dream had been hurt in a way no one could ever excuse, and promptly wretched. He dropped his weapon as he lost his lunch, gasping and heaving. Sapnap quickly sidestepped the sword to be by his fallen brother’s side, grabbed onto his limp hand and pressed his forehead against the back as pained, mournful sobs poured from the man.
Dream, for every horrible thing he’d done to the server, did not deserve a fate so horrible. Still unbeknownst to any of them except for a lone avian sitting in an arctic house, eyes glued to that fucking death message, they were all going to pay for the hurt they caused their admin.
And it would not be pretty.