A Deadly Mission || ETM Au (BACK!!)

Chapter 1: Prologue

Techno and Phil tossed the outlaws forward into the hands of the guards standing before them. They heard clapping off to the side as the royal guards dragged the men to the dungeons. Techno and Phil turned to see the clapping man. Dressed in a light blue royal robe with a golden crown on his head between two ram-like horns stood King Jschlatt with a smug smirk.

"Thank you again, Elite Team! You never cease to amaze me with your work!" He complimented, crossing his arms over his chest. Phil and Wilbur smiled kindly at him, Techno offering a smaller smile, and Tommy giving his signature smug, confident smirk.

"Is there anything else you need us to do?" Phil asked. Schlatt shook his head.

"No, nothing for now. Connor will meet you on the way out with your money, and I'll send Travis if I need you guys." Schlatt smiled. The four nodded and began walking out.

"Just don't get into any more trouble, alright?" Schlatt called out, three of the four men chuckling because they knew who that was directed at. Tommy scoffed, shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath. Just as Schlatt said, they saw Connor approaching them on their way out. He gave them the bag of coins, thanking them for their work, before walking off.

The four got into a carriage, telling the driver where to go, and started joking around.

"Who does that man think he is, telling me to not get into trouble??" Tommy complained.

"Uhhh, the king?" Techno deadpanned. Phil and Wilbur snickered and Tommy groaned.

"I don't even do anything that bad!" He claimed. Phil raised an eyebrow at him.

"You mean like how you almost set the tavern on fire that one time?" He asked. Tommy scoffed.

"That was not my fault, that was Deo!" Tommy tried to defend himself. Phil nodded but was obviously not buying it.

"Yeah, I'm sure you had no part in that whatsoever." He smirked. Tommy nodded.

"Yeah! It was all Deo, not me!" He finished. The other three looked at each other before laughing. Tommy gave them all a confused look, but couldn't help the smile forming on his face as he tried to hold back a chuckle.

"W-why are you all laughing! You all don't believe me??" He said through a few small chuckles. The other three continued to laugh as Tommy tried to defend himself, which failed as he kept laughing.

The rest of the ride was similar, the four teasing and joking with each other until they arrived at their mansion. Phil paid the driver a little extra as the four exited the carriage and entered the moderate-sized mansion. Phil put away the bag of coins, then started on dinner as the other three were complaining about being hungry.

They continued to joke around, mainly Techno and Wilbur bullying Tommy until Phil called out that dinner was ready. They ate, still joking around with one another, and Tommy and Wilbur cleaned up when they were finished. Phil helped to escort Techno to his room, seeing as he wasn't his normal self after all the bloodshed from earlier. He made sure Techno changed and got into bed, saying goodnight to him before walking down the stairs to make sure Tommy and Wilbur weren't about to burn down the kitchen or each other.

The three eventually made it to their rooms, slowly falling asleep. Sometime during the night, Techno shot up from his slumber in a cold sweat. He gasped for air, his breathing fast and unsteady. He clutched at his heart, eyes darting around the room. As he realized he was home and safe, he slowly loosened his grip on his chest and took a deep breath. He managed to steady his breathing after a few more moments and threw the blankets off of him. Quietly, he made his way out of his room and to the balcony.

Techno walked into the cool night air, feeling small goosebumps as it hit his skin. He laid his arms on the railing, leaning on it and looked up at the sky. The stars were twinkling, even through the few clouds present. The crescent moon in the sky shone brightly, lighting up the ground underneath. He enjoyed how tranquil everything was at night, listening to the light breeze as it passed through the trees.

After a few minutes, he heard a pair of footsteps quietly approach behind him. He didn't bother to turn around, already knowing who it was. A smaller figure appeared next to him, wrapping their arms around their chest in a self-hug. Their breathing was a bit unsteady, and Techno could sense their nervousness. He glanced down at the smaller boy, who was looking at the ground below the balcony.

"You wanna talk about it?" He asked gently. Tommy looked up at him, anxiousness and a bit of fear in his wide eyes. He quickly looked away after their brief moment of eye contact and shook his head.

"I-I'd rather not..." He responded quietly. Techno nodded, not pushing him any further as he returned his gaze up at the sky. After a few moments, Tommy took a deep breath and looked up at the sky as well, seeming to relax a little. Techno noticed that they were almost brushing shoulders, but he didn't mention it or move away.

One of the outlaws they captured had a unique that could present people their biggest fears. He had attempted to use it on Tommy, but seeing as Tommy's unique is the near-immunity to any mental uniques or curses, it didn't work. However, Tommy had a nightmare because of it, a nightmare that Techno could only assume was his greatest fears. He understands not wanting to talk about it, or why Tommy was standing so close to him.

A few more minutes passed, at least what only felt like a few more minutes, before Tommy let out a yawn. Techno glanced over at him, and without any words, the two made a silent agreement that they should probably go back to sleep. It was rare that either of them had a nightmare two times in the same night.

They walked down the hall, saying a quick goodnight to one another before quietly separating back to their rooms, going back to sleep.

~~~~~

Note: Chapter lengths are going to vary a lot. This is an example of a moderate-length chapter

WC: 1053