i love you with all the stars in the sky, 𝙏𝙀𝘾𝙃𝙉𝙊𝘽𝙇𝘼𝘿𝙀

[ 𝚛𝚎𝚍 ]

tw/cw: blood and hazy descriptions of gore

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ 　14　.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

Ya'know, the telling and re-telling of Quackity and Technonlade's fight always miss one detail. Yes, Techno takes the strength, regen, and other potions (not to mention the number of gapples on his person). He attacks Quackity with only a netherite pickaxe and iron armor, killing him and ultimately taking his first life. A scar, the story tells, haunts Quackity's face and he vows revenge. It's such a lovely story for a lie. Here's the real story.

It was December and was noticeably colder in New L'Manburg (not as cold as the arctic, Techno had noted). There was snow blanketing the ground, and Yule decorations hanging on houses and pillars. He was standing, and chained, in some type of cage, an anvil hanging dangerously above his head. He took in his surroundings; thousands of citizens of the newly built country held angry faces, elected officials stood around on the raised platform (about to give speeches and talks), Dream and Punz were watching quietly on top of a house; Phil standing on a balcony with a worried look in his eyes. They all were watching him. His sleeves were raised, no cape in sight. Gods he looked weak.

He blinked, there was yelling, then screaming. "Pull the lever, Big Q!" a young man's voice shouted, causing an animalistic noise to sound from Techno's throat. He noticed Punz was now in the crowd, glass pieces at his feet. He heard a click and looked over to see Quackity (bloody apron and all) pulling the lever. He whipped his head up and muttered a quick prayer when he saw the anvil start to fall.

Citizens born in the Underworld were only ever given one life, which does more harm than good. The same goes for anyone adopted, an unlucky trait that was passed to the royal family. He only had one life, a quick trip to see his mother and sister again. They would be thrilled to see him, less thrilled when they realized he was never going to live in the castle again. It was prohibited for the dead to live on castle grounds (unless you were a hybrid, that was a whole different story). Eret. Her name flashed through Techno's mind so quickly. She would be devastated. She finally found a piece of her family, the thing she'd been looking for forever since she arrived. The lives. Did Eret know she has one life? Someone has to tell her. Someone has to tell Eret everything there was to know about her mom. About Eros and how she raised her.

In the brief moment of fear and familial love, he looked at Phil with the most pleading look in his eyes. Phil's eyes glimmered with something that Techno couldn't place but it was soon replaced with understanding.

Techno blinked again, and suddenly, he was breathing clearer. The anvil was below his feet, what happened? He saw Dream holding Carl by the reins and he ran towards him, pushing himself past the max.

Dream disappeared by the time the pink-haired male arrived at the entrance of a tunnel. Carl was safe, he was safe and he made his way in. He reached the end of the corridor, a sign stood between him and a room. The Final Control Room; Techno remembered the angered rants of one TommyInnit. How the blond hated, loathed Eret for betraying them. He stepped in; chests coated with dust lined the walls.

He noticed a chest with his name engraved in it, between Eret's and Tubbo's engraved chests. Techno took everything out, looking back every once in a while to make sure he wasn't followed. Iron armor wasn't the most comfortable or the strongest, but it'll do. The netherite pickaxe didn't feel all that heavy, well, a little heavier than usual. He opened his ender chest, a totem of undying. He rubbed his eyes, then the bridge of his nose.

Someone kicked a stone behind him, causing him to whip around. Quackity stood in front of him, anger in his eyes. A diamond ax was held comfortably in his hand, and netherite armor adorned his body. He said something but the ringing in Techno's ears overlapped his speech. He looked at Quackity, splashed potions at his feet, and downed an enchanted gapple. Quackity slashed his back harshly, causing Techno to hiss. The ax made a deep incision under his shoulder blade. He turned around, swinging his weapon haphazardly. He must've nicked the vice president because he cried out in pain. Something lodged in his stomach, causing Techno to gasp harshly. He stepped forward and punched Quackity with his empty hand and watched him stumble back. Tears welled in Quackity's eyes as he stared at Techno. They fought with their hands for a while, sometimes one of them would slash the other with a weapon. Quackity hit Techno on the head with the bottom of his ax causing Techno's eyes to fuzz over. Through the fuzziness of what he could see, the pink-haired male moved his pickaxe up and slashed through the right of his face, starting from the chin and ending at his eyebrow. Quackity's body dropped, then disappeared out of existence. His armor and belongings dropped onto the floor. Techno grabbed whatever he could get.

He grabbed Carl and bee-lined for safety. He left through the sewage system, popping up by Eret's castle. He left the pipes before tying Carl up and snuck into the castle (which was hard, considering that he was losing more blood by the minute and Eret kept the castle well guarded when it got dark). He found the throne room, where the monarch was sitting anxiously. She yelled something when she noticed him fall to the ground, dagger in his stomach and bleeding back. She rushed to his side, shaking him awake. Techno reached out and grabbed Eret's hand. "You're not dying on me," she whispered harshly and Techno closed his eyes.

Techno woke up to a fluffy bed, pillows supported his back and neck. Bandages were wrapped snuggly around his torso, stomach, and upper shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Eret asleep by the bed, albeit in a chair uncomfortably. He squirmed, trying to be comfortable but failed as sharp pain traveled from the front of his shoulder to the underside of his shoulder blade. He groaned, making Eret shoot up from her place. "Thank the gods you're alive," she muttered, rubbing her eyes and looked at him.

"Ya'know, you're thanking your mom and grandmother whenever you say that," his poor attempt at a joke only made him chuckle, but made him groan when the laughing started to hurt. "You nearly died!" Eret hissed. "I know–" "You passed out on my carpet!" "I know–" "You 'bout died in my arms!" "You should've gone with a red carpet ya'know, it's more suitable to your aesthetic." "Protesilaus!" Techno closed his mouth at Eret's stressed expression. "'m sorry," he muttered.

"Would you at least tell me who did this to you?" Eret asked, stretching in the chair.

"Quackity," Techno answered and he moved his hands to his hair (he regretted that when a stabbing pain made itself noticeable under his shoulder blade), looking up at the ceiling. It was braided and in a bun.

"I did the bun, I think Eros taught me," she muttered. Techno shook his head, "I taught you to braid."

Eret took in that information, then went back to what Techno first said. "Quackity?" Techno nodded. "Ya'know, I almost married him." Techno's head snapped back to his niece. "What?!"

"It's weird I know, but we were engaged, planned a whole wedding," Eret's white eyes darkened. "He shot me at the alter, thought I was a ghost. We were supposed to get married the night after the election, but– uh he shot me. I don't think he realizes that though." She sighed, causing Techno's face to sadden.

"If it makes you feel any better," the corners of Techno's mouth perked upward a tiny bit, "your mother would've hated him." A silent chuckle escaped his mouth at the image of Eros meeting Quackity. Eret looked at him, a bewildered look on her face. Confusion washed over her face, then a questioning look.

"I'm confused," she finally got the words out after a few minutes of questioning silence. "About Eros," she hesitated before saying her name, "not approving of Quackity."

"You can call her mom Callisto," Techno smiled, then explained. "Eros hated people who were drunk on power. Quackity showed this in every government he's been in, no doubt it'll happen again if New L'Manburg falls."

Eret's face crumbled at the thought of Quackity only marrying her for her position as queen of the Essempii. Techno's smile fell, "But the way you described your relationship, I'm sure he loved you but was scared of the commitment." He looked at Eret, who was smiling softly at the joke. "All in all, your mother would've looked over any flaws your partner has and would love them just the same."

"Would she love me now?" she asked.

"More than life itself Callisto."

·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ 　14　.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

June 5: ended up adding a bit more detail to techno and q's fight