APRICITY // technoblade x reader DISCONTINUED

19 - Nighttime and Nemeses

Your footsteps are silent and swift as you sprint down the carpeted corridor, and you skid to a halt at the end of the hallway. Techno's door looms in front of you, but you push past your nerves and knock sharply.

A few seconds of quiet shuffling pass before the door swings open a crack, then all the way when Techno sees it's you.

His hair is tousled from sleep and there's a pillow crease imprinted on his cheek, but his eyes are alert as he raises an eyebrow at you.

"What do you need, Y/n, it's—"

"Something's wrong, it's- it's- I can't explain it, I don't know what it is, but it's- Ranboo's outside, in the garden, and he, he looked wrong. Something isn't right. It was him, but it wasn't him," you interrupt him, explaining in a rush of breath. "We don't have time. Put on your shoes, hurry up, please."

He searches your face for a second, taking in the worry on your features before he ducks behind the door and reemerges with boots shoved on hastily.

"Show me."

You obey, grabbing his hand and leading him down the hallway and the stairs in a whirlwind of fast-paced footsteps, taking the stairs two at a time as you race down. You jump down the last two stairs, your nightgown swishing against your calves as your land, and turn to face him. "Your turn to lead. I don't know how to get to the back of the manor, where my window faces."

He nods sharply, squeezing your hand before he guides you around the stairs, past the kitchen, and through a twisting hallway. It's a whirlwind of plush carpet and identical doorways until you spill out of an exit and into the back garden. The cobblestones beneath you feel cold and harsh as you two jog down the path.

You resume your lead once more, tugging Techno off of the path to make a beeline for the sprawling hedge maze.

"Why do you even have a hedge maze?" you mutter as you stare down the entrance that Ranboo had gone into.

"Tommy wanted one when he was little and Kristin made it, and it's stayed here since, so blame him."

"I..... actually can't quite blame him. Under other circumstances, this would be fantastic."

You sigh heavily. "No more avoiding it. We're going in."

Slowly, you step into the maze. The hedges feel foreboding, casting dramatic shadows towards the center of the maze, The moon's silvery glow disappears from your vision, and the looming walls of leaves seem to close in.

Techno's hand in yours is the only thing that keeps your throat from closing up as you pace through the maze. Your mind whirls, weaving creatures out of the darkness and spinning ideas of what could be at the center. Techno squeezes your hand, and you look up to him for comfort.

"We're almost to the center," he whispers to you, and you watch a tiny strand of har slip past his perked-up ear. "I hear something, but I don't know what. Stay a little bit behind me, alright?"

You nod. Seeing your agreement, Techno approaches the entrance to the center of the hedge maze, you trailing silently behind him with your hands still linked.

He pokes his head carefully around the corner and steps out into the open. You follow suit, peeking out from behind him at the scene in front of you.

Ranboo kneels in the center of the maze, his lanky form bent uncomfortably as he stares at the ground. In his hands is a pulsing green gem that protrudes from the center of the cobblestone ground.

Slowly, almost mechanically, Ranboo's head turns to face you. His eyes are glazed, glowing green that pulses in the same beat as the gem beneath his palms.

His mouth splits open widely, and a guttural, almost primordial noise slices through the silent night air. The gem in his hand pulses bright and energy begins to crawl up his hand, creeping beneath the skin like blood vessels. It's like watching lightning strike in slow motion, but it's all right in front of your eyes in the space of a few seconds.

The energy climbs, slithering into his skin, and detaches from the ground. Ranboo stands, crumbles of dirt and blades of grass dusting his knees.

He doesn't seem to notice, though, and those flat green eyes turn to you. Your breath catches in your throat, and your legs won't move.

You grab for the hilt of your sword, but your fingers only meet empty air and the fabric of your nightgown. Your heart drops into the pit of your stomach as you remember that it's the middle of the night and neither you nor Techno had thought to bring a sword.

"Shit," Techno hisses, apparently coming to the same realization as you. He glances around desperately, looking for anything to use as a weapon, and snatches up a fallen branch from the ground.

You find a hefty rock and decide it's better than nothing. The weight of it in your hand is mildly comforting if nothing else.

"Ranboo!" Techno calls. Ranboo doesn't even so much as turn towards him. "Ranboo, what's going on? Can you even hear me? Please, I don't wanna hurt you."

Slowly, Ranboo's head turns away from you and toward Techno, and he lunges with an animalistic ferocity.