𝙸𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝙸𝚝 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚞𝚜, 𝚁𝚞𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐?

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐚𝐲.

— remember not to love when i disappear — 

by the way, tommy has tech powers (similar to ironman but without the smarts) 

Techno was fighting alongside Tommy. 

It was an odd, bittersweet feeling to look over and see the loud blonde next to him, in his peripheral. He wasn't sure if he found the nostalgia extremely unpleasant or begrudgingly welcome. Perhaps both. What he did know was that whether he wanted to or not, Techno was going to protect the boy. 

"Stupid asshole bitch." Tommy cussed out, making a very vulgar and passive-aggressive gesture to the masked vigilante who had tried to shoot him, only to run away when Tommy's tech flicked it away like it was nothing. To them, a single bullet really wasn't anything. Techno sighed, stepping on a villain's chest. They wheezed out a single breath and Tommy raised his eyebrow. "You really just gonna fucking cave in his chest?" 

Techno shrugged, trying to stifle the bit of condescending ecstasy that was budding in his chest. He pressed his foot down, and the villain's face started to pale. "Maybe." He grinned at the look of disbelief on Tommy's face, even more when it turned to disapproval. 

"You're sick, you know that?" Tommy muttered, catching a small explosive someone had thrown at him without looking, and, back still turned, passed it back to the sender, of who didn't have time to dodge. Techno's ears twitched. 

"Believe me, I know." He joined the fight again, casually setting fire to another company-owned store as he did. Techno subconsciously stayed at Tommy's back, even though with the hero's reaction time and superpowered tech it wasn't necessary. After all, if he could stop a truck going 200 kmph and still walk away, unharmed, like he had those months ago, Techno wouldn't have to exert himself protecting him. His mind flashed back to that day. 

He was still a hero, then— friendly rival to Dream, working in the SBI. agency. Fame, money, clout, the works. Him and Tommy had been working together to stop a measly group of villains who Techno didn't bother to learn the name of. They had caught all except one; the ringleader, with no powers. Techno found it exceedingly ironic that someone with no ability would be the head of a villain group. They found them soon as they started to search, Tommy yelling from another street to him. He was unconscious in a car, with the keys still clutched in his hand, and the door was wide open. Techno had looked around, only to find them alone, a distant rumbling coming from the North. He turned quickly. 

Tommy shoved him out of the way. 

Techno shouted for him, eyes wide and tearing up (even though he'd never admit to that). The truck rammed past. When it screeched to a stop, Techno ran over to find the front completely caved in, and Tommy standing in the middle of where it was crumpled, shards of metal littering the ground beside him. He let out a shallow breath, pulling the blond into a hug. Tommy had seemed more surprised by that than the truck. 

When he let go of Tommy, a couple of moments later, he checked inside the truck. No driver. Just an emblem on the front seat— a dark purple star with thorns around it. He shrugged back at Tommy, actively pretending he didn't just show a sort of care for the boy. 

That's where that memory ended. He snapped back into reality, only to find out that Tommy was trying to hide a grin out of pride (or spite) and everyone who was fighting them was on the ground, unconscious. "Huh." He turned to who he used to call a friend— even a brother figure. Tommy's eyes weren't filled with malice; but not warmth, either. "We make a good team." 

"Yeah, right." 

ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ｡･.* ｡ﾟﾟ. ☆ﾟ 

Bad was trapped in a rollercoaster of emotions. His brother was apparently evil, so did that mean Necro-Sin was too? He really didn't want to think about it. He wasn't even sure if they had won or lost the fight with the Hero Council. On the other side, Skeppy was with him: holding his hand as he stood, mulling it over. There was too much to absorb, even comprehend, so they were taking advantage of the spare couple of moments they had, before they confronted Good. 

Skeppy squeezed his hand comfortingly, giving him a sidelong glance portraying I'm here, even if it all goes wrong. And, to be completely honest with you, that's all Bad needed. He wasn't about to leave his best friend again. With a small smile in return, he left the turmoil in his mind, exchanging it with cold composure. The street was empty, but it was still deafening loud beyond it, the sounds too jumbled to discern. Bad frowned. 

They started to walk in silence. Sapnap trailed behind, fidgeting and randomly lifting his feet off the ground. His eyes skittered around the place, becoming more glazed over until it barely seemed he could see at all, and that he didn't even notice. Skeppy gave him a worried look. "Hey man, you okay?" 

"Huh?" He snapped up, and turned to Skeppy like he hadn't noticed him walking next to where he was gliding, not even a foot off the ground. "Yeah, mm okayy." Sapnap's words came out slurred and groggy. Bad exchanged a look with Skeppy. 

"You sure?" Skeppy tightened his grip on Bad's hand, knuckles white. Sapnap smiled sleepily, then promptly fell over, causing Bad to rush over to him. The hero turned, worried. "What happened?" He whispered lowly to Bad, who shrugged. Sapnap shivered like a leaf in fall winds. Bad shook his head, not knowing what to say. 

The hologram of Good flashed on again, this time displaying him drinking from the wineglass he had knocked over previously. Bad didn't bother to question this, instead focusing on his passed-out friend. However, he did turn his attention to Good when he started speaking, saying something achingly familiar. 

"Hello, hello, hello. It's me! Goodboyhalo. While this chaos has been very entertaining..." he motioned with the empty glass, spinning it between his fingers, "I'd like it more if you couldn't pick which side you're on. So! I've got myself a friend here." Good waved at someone off hologram. "And she's going to help this show on the road." 

Skeppy let out a frustrated sigh. "It wasn't already? Everyone's fighting enough. What else could they want?" But Bad couldn't hear him. He was focused on not being able to pick which side you're on. It was all too familiar. He thought he had been doing the right thing, joining Necro-Sin, proud of his own will and choices, but now he could tell it was all orchestrated. Good asking him for a favour, the bracelets, the bear... if Good truly had done this just for chaos, he was just a puppet that had made everything worse. 

This was his fault. 

If he hadn't slotted the bracelet into where it fit, the hologram wouldn't have worked, and Good wouldn't have been able to make everyone riot. Bad's eyes were painfully dry. He couldn't even cry. He didn't think he deserved, anymore, to relieve his grief like that. 

Good continued to talk, beginning to be more ecstatic and condescending as he did. "It's been really fun with all of you! Watching you follow my instructions like obedient dogs. But I'm done with you now! Now, let the shit hit the fan. Aya, please—" he smiled. "make them fight for real." The hologram ended again, and Skeppy let out a breath of relief, but Bad didn't share the same feeling. 

Sapnap woke up. He turned to them with dead eyes, and in a voice not his own, stated: 

"Orchestrate more destruction."