Archive of Our Own

Techno’s plan to survive the game was simple.

Just go in, train, and don’t get attached to anyone. Make allies but don’t make friends.

Of course, the boy beside him seemed absolutely determined to ruin his plan.

He’d sat right down beside Techno at breakfast, eagerly chattering away about inane subjects. Apparently, his name was Phil and he was from District 11 which Techno supposed was why he ate so slow. Phil clearly wanted to savor each bite, seeing as he was skinny as a twig.

“So what district are you from mate?” He asked as he took another slow bite of his pancake.

“District 7,”

“Oh they do lumber and stuff right?”

“Yup,”

“So, do you know how to swing axes and stuff then,”

“Yup,”

“Cool!”

Techno has tried ignoring him but Phil seemed absolutely adamant at the two of them getting along.

“Listen, you seem nice and all,” Techno said. “But you do remember I’ll be swinging an axe at you in a couple of days right?”

“Yeah well,” Phil grimaced at the reminder of their situation. “My mentor said I should try to make at least one friend. Y’know someone who will always have my back,”

“Or someone to stab you in the back,”

“Well, at least I’d die to someone I like,”

Techno supposed that was a fair point. At least Phil had a mentor who actually seemed to care. Techno’s mentor just got drunk and told him to train hard, run fast and don’t die.

Truly, what stellar advice that he never would have thought of otherwise.

“Sorry for bothering you mate,” Phil said, frowning as he finished his food. “It’s just-I already tried talking to some other people but they laughed at me but you don’t seem like that so I thought-”

Damn it, now he feels bad.

“Alright fine, tell you what. We’ll be allies in the arena so long as we both accept that we’ll probably end up killing each other. Deal?”

Techno held out his hand to shake and Phil enthusiastically took it.

“It’s a deal mate!”

+

So, the two of them went through training sessions together and they made a surprisingly good team.

It was mainly due to their choice in weapons. Techno was naturally good with his axe from years of chopping wood and Phil had quite the knack for the bow and arrow.

They were a good balance, each able to cover each other’s weaknesses.

“Bruh, you’ve gotta stop showing me up,”

“Mate, there’s no need to be jealous,”

“Why should I be when I have my own natural skills?”

Techno pulled back the bow string and narrowed his eyes at the target, letting out a breathe as he fired the arrow.

“See, bullseye!” He said with a proud grin. “And you think I’m jealous,”

He was expecting Phil to quip back at him but instead he was staring right past him in awe.

“Earth to Phil?” Techno said, waving a hand in front of his face. Phil blinked at the hand and then his face flushed red. “What were you staring at?”

“No-nothing!”

Techno rolled his eyes at the blatant lie and turned to see what had gotten Phil’s attention.

Behind them was a girl about their age, training with the beams. She stood in front of them, took a deep breath and ran at them. She leaped over them, so agile that she barely touched the beams. When she got the the end, she beamed proudly as she adjusted the braid she had her black hair in.

Techno knew this girl.

Her name was Kristin from District 4 if he remember right.

She was also the girl Phil always seemed to notice in the halls and at training. Even the romantically oblivious Techno could see hearts in Phil’s eyes whenever they crossed paths.

“Bruh, she’s a career tribute,”

“So?”

“That means you have no chance with her,”

“Mate! Come on!” Phil huffed, crossing his arms at Techno. “She could be nice!”

“She could be,” Techno said as he notched another arrow. “She’ll also stab you in the back if you give her the opportunity to. She’s not like us, she actually wants to be here,”

He fired off another arrow, wincing as it missed the center region of the target.

“Yup, knew you’d take my advice,” he said but when he turned around Phil wasn’t there.

Instead, he turned to see him talking to Kristin.

“Bruh,” Techno said as he facepalmed. “I swear, him being a simp is gonna get him killed,”

Kristin looked over at him and eagerly waved to which Techno sighed and walked over.

This was exactly what he needed, more social interaction. He didn’t mind Phil but a career?

“Hi!” Kristin said, sticking out a hand to shake. “You’re Techno right?”

“The one and only,” he said, shaking her hand when he could just feel Phil hoping they’d get along.

Fine, he could be social.

“Why aren’t you hanging out with the other careers? Kinda assumed you’d all be tight,”

“Oh well,” she grimaced, fiddling with her braid. “It’s just-they’re kinda rude to people Y’know? I don’t want to go around taunting other people,”

So, she wasn’t afraid to go against the crowd then? Good to know.

“That’s so cool!” Phil said but then his face turned red. “I mean, I just-I think it’s neat you’re willing to talk to people,”

“Better to be liked than hated in my opinion,” she said with a cheeky grin. “Maybe we can train together from now on?”

“I don’t-”

“YES!” Phil yelled, slapping a hand over Techno’s mouth. “I mean ah it’s no big deal,”

Kristin looked at them and then she let out a small laugh.

“I like you two already!”

+

Thus, that’s how Techno wound up in a very reluctant team of three.

Then again, it was still mostly him and Phil training together. Kristin tended to switch back and forth between them and the rest of the careers.

He knew why of course. Kristin was way better at combat than both of them, seeing as she had trained her entire life for this.

She proved it when she managed to judo flip Techno in hand to hand training. Phil still hadn’t let him hear the end of that little incident.

+

It was the last night before the game began when Techno knew he wouldn’t win.

Phil and Kristin had come over to his room and the three of them decided to have a last supper so to speak.

It was fun with good food and, even though Techno wouldn’t admit it yet, good company.

“Hey guys,” Kristin said between bites of food. “Have you got any family back home?”

They both stopped at that but Kristin just continued on eating.

“I was wondering because I was thinking my mom is gonna be pissed if I work with you guys in the game,” she said with a giggle. “I mean, she’ll be humiliated!”

She looked over at them, noticing that both were deep in thought.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, staring down at her food and picking at it. “I forgot your families probably don’t want you to be here,”

“Nah, it’s fine mate,” Phil said, his voice sounding wobbly. “I’m just-I’m just worried about them,”

“Your parents sick of something?” Techno said with a sympathetic frown. He understood that feeling well, seeing as his old man had gotten sick from having to chop trees in the rain.

He’d never really recovered from it.

“Nah, they passed a while ago,” Phil said, staring down at his lap. “I’ve got two younger brothers you see and they were both-they were really upset when I left. And I promised them I’d come home but if I don’t?”

He looked up at them, his eyes haunted from having to grow up too fast.

“If I don’t, I don’t know who’s gonna take care of em,”

Phil had started sniffling by now, keeping his head down.

“And-and they’re such good kids and I feel like they look up to me a lot. I don’t-I can’t let them see me die on the fucking television,”

He looked up suddenly, his eyes watery and wet.

“Phil? Dude you alright?” Techno said, both him and Kristin looking at Phil with concern.

“Can you guys promise me something?” He said, sounding more serious than Techno had ever heard. “Promise me if one of you wins you’ll try to help them. At least make sure they’ll survive,”

Phil desperately held out his hands over the table, his pinkies stuck out.

“Promise me!”

Kristin hooked her pinkie first and then so did Techno.

One simple promise, hidden away from the media and the cameras, that would serve as their motive to survive.

Make sure two kids would live even if their older brother was gone.

+

Next thing he knew they were in the arena.

Techno stood on his podium, knees bent and ready to run.

They already had a plan after all. Phil and Techno go together to the cornucopia and get one bag. Kristin stay away from them and temporarily team up with the other careers.

Hope she didn’t die before the number of tributes got too low.

Techno looked around and saw Phil. Their eyes locked and Phil gave him a nod and a reassuring smile.

Techno gave him a thumbs up in return.

Then, the horn sounded.

Techno immediately sprinted off his podium and towards the cornucopia, trying desperately to out maneuver the other tributes. He heard a scream and turned to see one getting stabbed in the chest.

The screams were getting louder and the smell of iron filled the air.

He got to the table and snatched up the first bag he saw, along with a knife laying beside it.

“Techno! Look out!”

He turned around to see a boy running at him with a hoe and he reacted immediately. He blindly swing the knife, hearing the boy scream as he hit something with it.

“Phil! Let’s go!” He yelled to Phil, who was standing at the edge of the chaos. Phil started running for the trees and Techno followed him, adrenaline offering the small mercy of letting him ignore the sticky blood on his clothes.

The blood that he knew wasn’t his own.

“Where’s Kristin?” Phil asked as Techno caught up with him and they both quickly glanced back to look.

“I don’t see her body. I’m sure she’s fine,”

“But-”

“Bruh now is not the time to simp!”

He grabbed Phil by the wrist, dragging him through the trees and the bushes. The colors almost seemed to blend together and Techno could feel his legs already getting sore from the running.

“Techno! Hold on!”

Phil stopped and pointed towards a cave and they both came to the silent agreement to hide in there.

They ran in, staying close enough to get sunlight while also far enough away to hide from the others. They both sat down on the hard rock floor, panting as they tried to catch their breathes.

“Alright, what’s in it mate?” Phil asked after a couple of minutes of them calming down.

“Ah some water, bread, a flashlight, oh shoot here’s a brick,”

“A brick? Bloody hell mate,”

“Alright I grabbed the knife so you get the brick,”

“The hell am I supposed to do with a brick?”

“Throw it at someone. I dunno, make it your brand,”

“I would rather die than be known as the brick guy,”

Techno let out a laugh at that, something that felt so good after today.

He peeked out of the cave’s opening, noticing that the sun was already starting to set.

“Bruh,” he said quietly as he snuck out of the cave, grabbing some sticks and leaves.

“We starting a fire?”

“Maybe a bit deeper in this cave? Do it after the fallen tributes thing?”

“Fine by me,”

The two of them waiting in comfortable silence, Techno rubbing his hands against his shirt to try and get the blood off his hands. Phil nervously fiddled with a leaf, methodically tearing it up into shreds.

Then, they heard canon shots. Twenty four shots in total.

Phil let out a slow whistle of shock at the amount and they both watched the tribute’s faces flash across the sky. He anxiously rubbed his hands together, watching as face after face flashed by.

“She’ll be okay,” Techno said even though he had started fiddling with his braids.

They counted down the faces until the twenty forth one flashed away from the sky.

None of them were Kristin.

They both let out sighs of relief and went back into the cave.

“So, we’re doing shifts right?”

“Oh dude yes. We aren’t stupid,”

+

It was shockingly peaceful really.

It helped that they hadn’t particularly stood out with their average scores and tending to stick to themselves.

They spent most of their time carefully trekking through the woods around the cave, searching for berries and firewood. Occasionally, they’d find small one person camps with not much except the smell of death.

There was one time they found a net which Phil had been quite excited about. He rigged it so that it covered the entrance of the cave.

They also explored the cave itself and it was huge, filled to the brim with gemstones and stalactites. Techno had never seen a cave this big, not even in the previous games.

He suspected that was the big theme this time. A humongous cave system that could lead almost anywhere if you could figure it out.

Phil had tried to and even managed to memorize a path from their camp to an opening that led to a lake.

True, they had also seen a campfire on the other side so they couldn’t exactly explore it but it was there.

And every night, they’d anxiously watch for the fallen tributes. It wasn’t nearly as much as the first night, most of the time only a couple had died and some days no one at all.

None of them, however, were Kristin.

Even though they were hungry and feared for their lives, those were what Techno called the good days.

Of course, that meant there were also bad days.

The days they couldn’t find food and went hungry for the day. The days when the game masters decided things had gotten boring, so they flooded the caves or caused a poisonous fog to drift on the ground, forcing them to hide in trees for the day.

The rare occasions they met someone were the worst days. By this point, hardly anyone who was actively looking for tributes was willing to show mercy. They’d sneak into their camp, hoping to steal the meager supplies inside.

Phil had killed someone once.

Then, he couldn’t sleep for days.

Techno had taken to killing people instead, managing to pin them down and slitting their throats.

He was shockingly good at it, able to shut his brain off and just focus.

It scared Phil.

It terrified Techno.

+

There was one day when the game masters started fires across the forest. Or maybe one of the tributes did and it had blazed out of control.

Techno didn’t particularly care. He couldn’t even remember how long they’d been out here, at least a couple of weeks.

However, someone stumbled into their camp that evening.

Techno already had his knife out, ready to throw it when the figure raised their hands in surrender.

“Don’t-please don’t,”

He heard Phil gasp from behind him as he lowered his brick.

“Kr-Kristin?”

She hesitantly stepped forward into the light of their campfire and it was her.

Kristin was finally here.

Phil immediately ran forward, pulling her into a tight hug that she seemed to barely register. She was covered in soot and blood, far dirtier than the two of them were. Her braid had long since come undone, her hair grown out almost to her knees.

They both pulled away from each other and Phil was absolutely beaming, looking far happier than he had ever looked since the game started.

“Alright, break it up lovebirds,” Techno said with a fond smile. “Kristin, you look like you’re gonna collapse right here and I don’t feel like carrying you,”

The two both flushed red but Kristin did thankfully sit down. Phil passed her some water and she chugged some of it, letting out a sigh of relief as she finished.

“So, what happened to you?” Techno asked, still holding his knife in his hand.

“The fire spread to our camp,” Kristin said, her voice hoarse. “I’d been wanting to get away for a while so I used it as a distraction. Ran off with some stuff I picked up,”

She opened up her backpack, showing them some medicine and a throwing axe she had stuffed inside.

“Techno, did you stab someone at the cornucopia?”

“Hm?” Techno had been examining the axe but he put his head back up. “Yeah I think I did,”

“That guy, he survived,”

“Really?”

“Yes, you gave him a nasty scar,” Kristin said with a small chuckle. “But he’s a career and he’s looking for you,”

Techno sighed as he leaned back against the wall. Great, just what he needed. A career tribute actively looking for him.

“Well, what’s his name?” Phil asked, looking at them both with worry in his eyes.

“His name’s Dream,” Kristin said, yawning as she leaned against the wall. “He’s the best fighter here I think and-and,”

Her eyes suddenly snapped open and she scrambled up from the ground, shoving things in her backpack.

“Shit! Shit fuck” she swore, pushing her hair back from her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” Phil asked as him and Tehcno stood up, both clutching their weapons.

“I forgot, I fucking forgot!” Kristin said, still packing up in a flurry of panic. “They-they saw your fire. Dream and the rest of the careers almost came but the fire cut them off! They know where we are!”

Phil and Techno both stood still for a moment, staring at her.

“Don’t just stand there like fish!” She said, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “We’ve gotta go!”

+

They got lucky, very lucky.

After they moved out, they hid in the trees for the night. They had as much as they could carry in backpacks but they left a lot behind.

Phil was on watch when he saw their camp get burnt to a crisp by the careers.

+

After that, they decided to take a much more nomadic approach. Traveling and collecting supplies throughout the day then setting up camp during the night.

Techno couldn’t help but notice that Kristin and Phil were awfully chummy. They liked to whisper a lot, giggling and occasionally Kristin would say something that made Phil turn a bright shade of red and pull his hat under his eyes.

However, they both insisted they were just friends when Techno told the lovebirds to focus.

God, he hoped Kristin wasn’t manipulating Phil.

He considered them both friends by now, as much as he had tried to keep them at a distance.

They had set up camp beside a river that night, Kristin trying to teach them both to fish. She may not be able to locate berries but she made up for it with all the fresh meat she caught.

“You’re too impatient,” she laughed as Techno once again pulled out an empty line. “Phil tell him! I’ve already tried to explain!”

“Mate, you’re going to loose the fishing competition at this rate,”

“You can’t just declare a challenge half way through!”

They all laughed but then a canon shot went off.

“Hey look,” Phil said pointing up at the sky. Instead of one of the fallen being up there, there was instead an announcement.

“A feast?” Techno said, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

“With food!” Kristin said excitedly.

“That is totally a trap,” Techno said, turning back to his fishing. “Most obvious trap I’ve ever seen. We definitely aren’t going right?”

He expected the other two to agree but instead they just glanced at each other.

“You two cannot be serious,”

“Come on mate, it’s not just about the food,” Phil said. “There could be better weapons there! Right now all we have is a knife and a brick!”

“Besides, imagine a food with actual spice!” Kristin said, her mouth watering the thought. “Maybe even some chocolate!”

“If you two want to go on your little date then go ahead!” Techno snapped, letting out a frustrated growl. “But I’m staying here and not dying!”

With a huff, he stomped off towards the piles of leaves they’d made into a bed and laid down to sleep.

He wasn’t jealous, totally not.

He was just…frustrated.

Maybe he was worried but he wouldn’t admit that.

+

It was noon the next day when they both left for the feast.

Things were still awkward after Techno’s outburst and the two had prepared themselves without him.

“Tech? We’re leaving,”

He looked up from cooking a fish to see both of them ready to go, backpacks slung across their back. Kristin had the knife and Phil had the brick.

“Good luck brick man,”

“Shut up,” Phil said with a fond laugh as he bent down and gave Techno a hug.

“Move out if you need to but try to stay near the river,” Kristin said. “We’ll be able to find you then,”

“Alright, don’t die,”

“Bye!” They both said with waves and then they set off down the river.

Techno watched them until they disappeared around a corner.

He continued to tend to the fish, even as he bounced his anxiously leg up and down.

“They’ll be fine,” he muttered. “Gotta have a little faith in them,”

+

It was a couple of hours later and Techno was pacing back and forth on the side of the river.

It’s not like he was that worried or anything he just…needed the exercise.

“Who am I kidding?” He muttered. “I’ve gotta go make sure one of those idiots didn’t twist an ankle or something,”

While he knew they were perfectly capable, there was a gut instinct telling him he needed to go.

His instincts had been pretty on point so far.

He walked along the river with a backpack on his back and a long, pointy stick to defend himself.

It was less embarrassing than a brick he supposed.

It was actually quite nice out, seeing as the sun was covered by the clouds today. He wasn’t sure how much the game masters controlled the weather but it was still a nice day.

As he continued along the winding trail, the trees started opening up as he got back to the center of the arena.

Then, he heard something.

He heard screams.

“Heh!” He yelled as he ran forward, stumbling over the roots of trees as he ran forward towards the opening.

Then, when he looked in.

He looked in.

“Oh fuck,”

There were bodies littered on the ground and hordes of tracker jackers flying everywhere. Some people were already dead, stings covering their bodies and others were flailing around, trying to run from hallucinations only they could see.

“Where are they, where are they, where are they?” Techno pleaded to himself, eyes darting around the center.

“No,”

He saw someone being stabbed by a man with a mask on.

“NO!”

The person who had been stabbed was-it was…

It was Phil, his body covered in stings and stab wounds.

He barely had time to process it before someone slammed into him.

He let out a yell and shoved them off, only to see Kristin trying claw her eyes out.

“GET THEM OFF!” She screamed and Techno gasped at the large purple bump already growing on her arm. “GO AWAY!”

She looked up and he wasn’t sure what she saw but it wasn’t him. She swung a bag at him, something she must have picked up at the cornucopia.

“Kristin! It’s me!” He yelled and for a moment her eyes flickered with recognition. “We’ve gotta go!”

“Where’s-where’s Phil?” She said, trying to get up. “Techno I can’t see! Where the hell is Phil?”

Techno looked over at the body. No, he looked over at Phil.

His eyes were already dull and empty.

He held a hand over his mouth, trying not to throw up.

“He’s-he’s right behind us,” he said, hoping he somehow kept his voice calm enough.

“Okay,” she said and Techno yelped when he saw her wobbling on her feet. The lucidity faded from her eyes as they went wide with panic. “Techno! They’re back!”

He picked her up and ran as she screamed something about giant spiders hunting them down.

He looked behind him to see the man with the mask watching them go.

The mask had a smile drawn on it.

+

He kept on running through the woods until he finally got to their camp and from there he focused on healing.

He plucked some leaves from the nearby bushes, chewing them up into a paste to put on her wound.

He had to hold her down, seeing as she almost stabbed him at one point.

He just applied the paste and tried not to think.

Don’t think about Phil.

Don’t think about his dead body not even getting a funeral.

Don’t think about how their last real conversation was Techno being irraited at him.

Don’t think about how he didn’t get to say a proper goodbye.

Don’t think about how his brothers just saw him die on their fucking television.

Don’t think, don’t feel, just do.

He leaned her down to the ground, barely aware that it was already night time. She had fallen asleep, thank god, and was merely mumbling something about a huge lemon in the sky.

She better enjoy that blissful ignorance.

Then, he heard canons. Far more than the previous days.

He hesitantly looked up at the sky, praying that by some
miracle he had survived. Maybe Techno had gotten stung when he’d arrived and he’d hallucinated seeing a body.

Phil could be taking care of him right now and he’d be worrried sick.

That hope was shattered when he saw Phil’s face pop up in the sky. He looked so much younger and Techno hadn’t realized how much more skinny he’d gotten. His hair was actually clean and his skin wasn’t dirty and greasy.

Did they even bother to air his death? Or was he deemed a side character by the higher ups?

He needed to punch something.

He got up and stalked over to a tree, giving it a hard punch.

Then he did it again.

He did it over and over and over again until his knuckles were bloody and raw.

He was exhausted but he had to keep watch.

“Keep it together Techno,” he muttered, pushing his hair out of his face. “Need a distraction,”

Fortunately, Kristin was still tightly clutching that damn backpack. It had an eleven written on it in with bright neon paint so Techno assumed it was something for Phil.

If it was for him, Techno wouldn’t let anyone else have it.

He opened it up, carefully taking out and examining the objects inside. There was some medicine that Techno sure wished he had seen earlier, a blanket, a tin of cookies, and finally an envelope stuck on the bottom.

He carefully opened up the envelope, looking in it to see two pieces of paper.

The first was a childish drawing in crayons. Phil was a stick figure in it, holding what Techno was pretty sure was a bow and shooting a bear. A trophy stood behind him and two trees were drawn around him.

He flipped it over and saw writing on the back. There were two signatures, the first scribbled out in barely legible crayon handwriting. Techno was pretty sure it said something about how Phil was going to look so cool and it was signed as Tommy. The second signature was significantly neater but still had some misspellings crossed out. It apologized for Tommy’s shit handwriting and told Phil that they both missed him.

“Oh boy,” Techno said, leaning his head against the wall with a pained sigh.

He guessed these were…Phil’s brothers. Funny, he hadn’t even asked what their names were.

He didn’t laugh.

He moved on to the second paper and sucked in a breathe.

It was a photo of two boys. There were dressed up for it, both looking very uncomfortable in the dressy clothes. The blonde one sat in the brunettes lap and held up his middle finger to the camera. The brunette seemed like he couldn’t decide between scolding the kid or bursting into laughter.

They were both smiling for the camera.

“I’m sorry,” Techno croaked out. “You jerks, you’re making me cry on live TV,”

He hadn’t cried once during this entire time. Not when he’s gotten picked, not when he said good bye to his parents, and not even when he saw Phil’s face pop up as a fallen tribute.

But these two pieces of paper made the dam of stress and mourning burst.

So, he sat down against a tree and cried.

+

The sun had just started rising when Kristin finally woke up.

He didn’t really remember it that much, his brain too muddled with exhaustion.

All he remembered was seeing her getting up and walking over to him, wincing as she held her arm.

She’d tried to ask a question but he never heard it.

He passed out into a dreamless sleep.

+

“Techno? You ready to wake up?”

He groaned, squeezing his eyes shut against the bright sun.

“You wake up too early Phil,”

“Um Phil hasn’t come back yet,”

Then, it all came flooding back.

The feast. The tracker jackers.

Oh great, now his hasty lie was coming back to bite him.

He slowly opened his eyelids, wincing at the bright sunlight. Kristin was sitting in front of him, chewing on some bread as she worriedly glanced from him back to the woods.

“How long have I been out?” He asked as he slowly sat up.

“Only a couple of hours,” she said, handing up a hunk of bread. “You looked exhausted though so you better eat all of this,”

He took a bite, wincing at the taste of it.

“I know it’s stale,” Kristin said she finished off her chunk. “But you’ve gotta eat it all!”

He took more bites of it under the watchful eye of Kristin. Then, he finally finished it off.

“How much do you remember?” He asked her, putting his hands in his lap to hide the trembling.

This was it, this would determine how much more emotional pain he was in for.

“I remember we got to the feast and found that backpack,” she said, pointing a finger at the backpack Techno had gone through last night. “I think we were about to leave? But Phil said he saw some chocolate and he went back to get it for me,”

She smiled fondly at the memory, her face flushing red.

“He’s too nice to me really,”

“Yeah, he is,” Techno said, turning away from her.

“After that, something bad happened? I don’t really remember after that but you said Phil was behind us,” she said. “Did he catch up to you? I figure he’s out hunting or something so I’ve stayed here waiting,”

“Kristin, Phil is-I saw-” he winced, suddenly unable to even say it.

She looked at him, her face going straight from fondly reminiscent to filled with worry.

“What do you mean, you said he was fine,” she said, scrambling over to him and grabbing him by the shoulders. “Techno, you said he was fine,”

“I lied,”

“…What?”

“He’s not fine. I saw his-he’s gone,”

“No, no he’s not,” she said, scrambling away from him with wide eyes. “You two are-this is such a cruel joke!”

“Do you really think I’d joke about this? Do you really think Phil would do this either?”

“No but it has to be a lie!” She said, holding her head in her hands. “He went back for-for me! I saw him go back!“

She looked at him with a desperate, manic energy and then she suddenly lunged at him.

“Kristin!” Techno yelped as he grabbed her wrist, just
before she stabbed his throat with her dagger. “Just-you’ve gotta calm down!”

“No! I know I got stung!” She yelled, pushing to get free of his hold on her. “You’re a fucking hallucination! Once you’re gone, I’ll wake up and-and it won’t be all my fault!”

“If you really think that,” Techno took a deep breathe and let go of her wrist, the knife still inches away from his neck. “If you want to stay in denial, then go ahead and stab me. I really hope you don’t though because it probably wouldn’t be a fun time,”

They both waited for a moment before the knife started trembling. Her entire body was shaking and tears streamed down her cheeks.

She dropped the knife.

“I’m sorry,” she whimpered, barely able to speak from her crying. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,”

She effectively collapsed into his chest, letting out a wail of sorrow as she cried.

Techno stood stiff for a moment, having never been great at comforting people.

Then, she slowly pulled her into a hug.

“I never-never told him!” She said, “I never told him that I-I!”

She let out another sob, mourning all the words that were left unsaid.

So, Techno let her mourn.

He was still mourning too after all.

+

There weren’t any good days after that.

Phil had left behind a gaping hole in their dynamic, conversations always feeling unfinished without his little jokes or reassuring optimism.

It wasn’t just that either. He’d had quite a bit on him when he…passed away. Food, medicine, and water had been in his bag.

On practical and mental they weren’t doing well.

They were low on supplies so Kristin went out fishing more often. She didn’t try to teach Techno anymore, always staring emptily at the water.

She’d changed for the worse, they both had.

God, Techno wanted to go home.

They’d found a cave system a while back, an underground river flowing through it. It had started raining outside, often for days or even an entire week.

It was abundantly clear the game masters wanted everyone in these caves. The number of tributes had gone down a lot after the massacre at the feast and Techno suspected people were getting desperate.

People weren’t hiding anymore. They’d just gotten lucky enough to not encounter anyone yet.

“Hey Techno?” Kristin asked, her voice long since drained of energy. They were still walking along the river, clusters of amethysts above them lighting the way. “What happens when we’re the last two left?”

He slowed to a stop, feeling Kristin bump into him for behind.

“Well, that’s just a morbid thing to ask,”

“It’s practical though. Surely you’ve thought about it too?”

“Nah, I’ve been putting it off,” he lied through his teeth.

“Well, I think that if we’re the last two left,” she stopped, letting out a hum as she seemed to be thinking through her words. “Then, I think you should kill me,”

He huffed and walked faster.

“Hey! Quit ignoring me!” She stepped in front of him with a pout but he just walked right past her. “Techno! C’mon!”

“That’s the stupidest idea I’ve heard out of your mouth,”

“It makes sense though!” She walked backwards in front of him. “I mean, you have people to go back to! People who care!”

“What about your parents?”

“Pft, not anymore,” she said with a bitter laugh. “I’ve probably humiliated them by this point. Even if I did go back, I’d have no one to go back to,”

“And leave me with the burden of killing you?”

“I don’t want any of these other bastards to do me in and I especially don’t want one of the careers to do it,”

“I’m not doing this Kristin,” Techno said, both of them slowing to a stop. “Once it’s just us two, we’ll have a one on one fight. Whoever wins, wins. Plain, simple and easy,”

“You’re far too honorable, you know that?”

Techno just shrugged and they continued walking through the caves.

+

“If you did win though, what would you do?”

“Give my parents a nicer house probably. Maybe one with two rooms,”

“No, not practical stuff! I mean, what’s something you’ve always wanted to do?”

“I’ve always wanted to write a book actually. I’m lucky my mom knew how to read and she taught me when I was little,”

“Aw, that’s nice!”

“What would you want to do?”

“Hm, well I dunno. I guess maybe I’d want to see outside? Somewhere no one else has been,”

“I don’t think you’d be allowed to do that,”

“Let a girl dream Techno!”

“I’m just sayin, maybe learn how to play an instrument or something,”

“What instrument would I even-”

Techno heard a sharp, pained gasp behind him.

“Te-techno,”

If he didn’t turn around, nothing could happen. She had tripped on a rock or a spider had bit her. They were just talking about instruments a second ago, what could’ve happened!

He slowly turned around.

Kristin stood in front of him, her legs shaking, her eyes wide and an arrow embedded in her chest. Her fingers twitched as she tried to reach for the arrow.

“I’m not ready to-I’m not-”

“Kristin!”

He ran over to her as she collapsed on the ground, her breaths shallow and quick.

“Bruh, a little arrow isn’t gonna kill you,” he said, quickly picking her up and running. “C’mon Kristin, you’re way stronger than this!”

He darted through the tunnels, desperately glancing behind him to see if anyone was there.

He set her down against a rock wall, ripping a strip of cloth off his shirt for a bandage.

“Ok, I’ll just-I’ll just pull it out and wrap up the wound,” he said. “Easy, could do it in my sleep any day,”

“Techno,”

“Then I’ll apply medicine but I’ll fix you! I swear, I’ll fix you!”

“Techno, I think-” she winced, letting out a hiss as he touched the arrow. “No, I know I’m not going to make it,”

“Stop talkin nonsense,” Techno muttered, wiping at his eyes as examined her wound. “I wanted to fight you at the end. You’re the only person here who I’d actually struggle against,”

Kristin let out a chuckle at that but it was far too quiet and tired.

“Trust me, I don’t want to die here either,” she whispered and Techno finally stopped trying.

It was hopeless, from the moment he saw that arrow in her chest he knew it was.

“You know what’s funny?” He said with a watery laugh. “I promised myself I wouldn’t get attached to anyone cause I knew it would hurt, I just knew it. Now look at that’s happened, I’m over here crying on live tv for you two,”

“Do you-do you regret it then?”

“Never!” Techno said. “You two nerds are the-the best people I’ve ever met!”

The dam broke again and silent tears flowed down his cheeks.

“I am sorry, really I am,” she said, her voice so soft by now that Techno could barely hear her. “But I’m tired Techno,”

Techno looked at her eyes which looked past him and somewhere he couldn’t see.

“Oh,” she said and a huge smile broke out on her face. She slowly reached a hand out, not towards Techno but towards someone else. “Hey, Phil,”

With that, her hand dropped to her side and the rest of her body went limp.

He was alone now.

He leaned against the wall, head tucked in his shoulders as he stared numbly at the ground.

As much as he wanted to just lay down and die, he knew
he couldn’t. He’d made a promise to Phil so very long ago.

He’d never broken a promise before and he wasn’t going to start now.

+

He left when the body started to smell.

After that, he didn’t remember much. He’d gone numb at that point, eating just enough to survive.

He also stopped hiding and started hunting.

He managed to find someone with an axe and threw a knife at his neck. After that, he went to work.

He knew this was wrong, it wasn’t normal to act this way. However, he feared letting any more emotion out at all.

If he went into the sea of emotions, at this point he’d drown.

He didn’t even bother washing the blood off at one point. He just killed and killed and killed, not bothering to remember their names or faces.

He wondered if Phil and Kristin would be disappointed in him.

The nightmares had at night said yes.

He stopped sleeping.

+

Next thing he knew there were two people left. Him and Dream.

They met at the cornucopia and had one last fight.

Techno supposed it was very dramatic to The Capitol but he didn’t remember any of it, his body was basically working on autopilot at that point.

+

Techno won.

Even when he got brought back to The Capitol with confetti and people cheering his name, he didn’t feel happy.

+

He started to feel again when he was in his big house alone. An avalanche of guilt and grief that threatened to consume him at night.

He was alone a lot, not much to do when you’re one of the richest men in the district.

He’d gone to see his parents but his old man had died while he was gone.

His mom was scared of him, they all were. Hell, he was scared of himself.

He wasn’t himself and everyone knew it.

So, he shut himself in his house with everything he could ever want.

He used to not understand why his mentor drank so much. He had survived so why throw his life away to the bottle?

Techno understood why he drank now.

+

He tried to watch recordings of his own game, just to see their faces again.

The broadcasters called him The Blood God.

They focused on his strength and his now iconic axe.

They barely mentioned Phil and Kristin at all.

He left a crack in the TV with how hard he threw his remote at it.

+

There was one thing he had to take care of. The main reason he didn't just drink himself into a stupor.

“So, you were Phil’s mentor?”

He had managed to remember who it was and had invited him over. His name was Quackity, older than Techno with a long scar across his eye.

Phil told Techno he’d asked about it once. Quackity had said it was from a run in with a pickaxe.

“Well, it’s nice to finally meet you,” Quackity said as he walked in and looked around, smoking a cigarette.

“If you’re here to call me The Blood God, I will kick you out,”

“Ha! No offense man but,” Quackity walked in and sat down on the sofa, letting out a breath of smoke. “You don’t scare me one bit. Now, you gonna tell me why I’m here or what?”

“Did Phil ever mention anything about two brothers?”

Quackity went silent at that, his wry grin turning into a solemn frown.

“…Tommy and Wilbur? Yeah, Phil talked about em as much as he did about you and Kristin,” Quackity coughed as took another drag of his cigarette. “Said he wanted to buy Wilbur a guitar if he won,”

“Did you think he could have?”

“Before he met you guys? Maybe,” Quackity said. “But once he started talking about you guys, I knew he’d rather kill himself than kill one of you two,”

Techno let out a sigh, sitting down on the couch and running a hand over his face. Him and Phil, they’d never really talked about what would happen at the end.

He meant to but Phil had died too soon and too suddenly.

If he hasn’t let them go, would Phil be here instead? Would he have seen his brothers? Would Wilbur have a guitar?

“Techno! Hey Techno breath!”

Oh, he was hyperventilating. He’d gotten wrapped up in his own thoughts again, falling down a rabbit hole.

“I’m okay. I’m good,” he said, grabbing a glass of blood red wine and taking a sip. He rolled his eyes at Quackity’s baffled stare. “Don’t go telling me I’m too young,”

“No, just not used to it yet. Back on topic though, why do you wanna know about Phil’s brothers?”

“We made a pact, right before the games. Me and Kristin both swore if one of us won we’d make sure his brothers could survive,” Techno leaned back against the cushion and fiddled with his tangled braid. “After Phil passed away, Kristin talked about it all the time. She’ll be pissed at me if they end up in the afterlife before me and I could’ve helped,”

Techno chuckled a little at the thought of Kristin’s face turning red at him, like it did when he beat her at chess.

“So I want to make anonymous donations to them, kinda like a benefactor. I give them just enough to live so that The Capitol will approve and they’ll never know it was me,”

“Why keep it a secret though?”

Techno knew why, of course. He’d had nightmares of these two kids, coming to his house and screaming why he lived. Why did he get to live and their older brother died?

In his dreams, Techno could never answer. He was always fortunate enough to escape as the sun rose.

If they actually asked him, there would be no easy escape.

“Because I’ve gotta stay humble Y’know?” Techno snarked. “Not like I’ve ever had an ego anyways,”

Quackity raised an eyebrow at him, not seeming to buy his excuse at all. However, he just shrugged.

“Alright, I’m guessing you’ll send a check to me and I send it to them?”

“Whoa, you figured it out,”

Quackity sighed and rolled his eyes, getting off the couch with a stretch.

“Yeah yeah smart ass,” Quackity said as he got to the door. “Hey, make sure to actually get out once and a while?“

“Nah, don’t wanna hurt my eyes from the sun,”

“I’m serious man,” Quackity said, turning back to him with crossed arms. “Look, you got damn lucky with how your game turned out,”

“…Lucky?”

Techno stalked up to him, grabbing Quackity by his stupid red tie and yanking him down towards him.

“You really think I’m lucky? Watching Phil get torn apart by trackers? Watching Kristin bleed out in a damn cave?”

“Yeah, because you didn’t have to kill them!”

Techno’s grip loosened for a moment, causing Quackity to yank his tie out of Techno’s grip.

“I had two friends just like you did. One of em died early and you wanna know what happened to the other?”

“…What happened?”

“I poisoned him. I thought-I really thought it would be quick and painless but those damn gamemakers,” Quackity clenched his fists as he talked. “They fucked with the berries biology. He was suffering for hours and I was too fucking scared to do shit about it!”

“Quackity, dude I didn’t-”

“So yeah, in a way I consider you lucky,” Quackity said with a bitter laugh. “But none of us are. So, I’m telling you to get out of this house once in a while before you die and no one knows what your friends did for you!”

They both stood for a moment, Quackity leaning against the doorframe and Techno cautiously standing away from him.

“Just call me some time Techno,” Quackity said, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. “Trust me, no one else understands what we’ve gone through,”

Quackity handed Techno a slip of paper and left through the door.

Techno unfolded the paper to see Quackity’s number on it.

Maybe he could call him later.

+

Techno sent his first check the next day, just enough for two to get food and other necessities.

He also made a special note.

“Get Wilbur a guitar,”

+

It took a couple of years for Techno to actually have to start mentoring people. There were enough victors in his district who were older and wiser than him so they had priority in mentoring. Eventually, however, the older ones died from alcoholism or a noose so Techno was forced to start mentoring.

Some of them were successes, like Niki. A girl with a smile as sweet as the treats she liked to bake. Who could cause damn near anyone to lower their guard with her soft voice and small stature. She joined a group early on and eventually became the one in charge of cooking, seeing as she could actually add some flavor to the food.

They never saw the poison coming.

When she came back, she said she would never bake again.

Most of the time, though, they weren’t successful. He didn’t want to say failures, the scared twelve year old boy who had trembled at the sight of blood didn’t deserve to be called a failure when he was the second one out.

They were victims in Techno’s eyes.

He supposed he was a victim too in that regard.

+

He didn’t realize how quickly the years had flown by until Quackity burst into his house.

“Techno!”

Techno winced as Quackity slammed his door open, his chest heaving from how fast he’d run inside.

“What’s up man?” Techno said with a worried furrow of his eyebrows and he poured a glass of scotch. “Jeez, are the cigarettes finally getting to you?”

“Now’s not the time for jokes!” Quackity said, snapping his head up to look at Techno. “Tommy fucking volunteered!”

“…You’re serious? That Tommy volunteered?”

“Yeah, I think Wilbur got picked or something,”

Techno leaned against the cushion of the couch with a long sigh.

“You alright dude?”

He picked up the shot glass and gulped it all down in one go.

“I’m just peachy Quackity,”

+

“So why the fuck am I here?”

This was certainly not how Techno had planned to meet Tommy. He hadn’t planned to meet him at all, really, but now he was here mentoring him.

It had been a pain in the ass but he managed to convince the game masters it would make a good story. He told them that him mentoring the younger brother of his ally from his time in the games would be pretty compelling.

Tommy looked eerily similar to Phil, right down to the blue eyes and blonde hair. It made Techno grip his pen so tight that his knuckles went white.

However, the similarities died went it came to personality. This kid was way more mouthy than Phil ever was.

“I mean, I’m not shocked you want to mentor me. I’m probably the strongest one here!”

“Sure kid,” Techno raised an eyebrow at Tommy’s cocky grin. “The strongest one here, in this very room,”

Tommy looked over Techno and crossed his arms with a huff.

“Fine second strongest but seriously man why are you mentoring me? I know for a fact that you weren’t in my district because I wouldn’t forget the fucking hair,”

Techno looked at him for a moment, trying to figure out how much he knew. How much he remembered.

“I knew your brother. I also owe him one so I decided you might as well be mentored by the best of the best,”

Tommy looked at him in shock and then his eyes hardened to a glare.

“Is this a fucking joke?” He yelled, slamming his palm on the table. “What is this, some weird fucking taunt?”

“Bruh, first lesson is you’ve gotta learn to keep that mouth shut,” Techno said, raising up a hand to silence Tommy when he tried to speak again. “But I was close to your brother, one of my only allies in the games. I made a promise to him and by mentoring you, I’m keeping it,”

“But-”

“And I’m just about out of social energy,”

“You can’t just drop this shit and walk away,”

“Sure I can,”

“Just tell me one thing!” Tommy said, getting up and grabbing Techno by the arm before he walked out of the room. “Did you care about him? Or is this just one fake storyline the game makers are forcing you to do?”

Techno snapped his head back to Tommy with a glare.

“I’ll tell you this once and it’s the truth,” he said, Tommy practically withering under his intense stare. “No matter what anyone says, Phil was one of the best people I’ve ever met,”

With that, Techno stalked out of the room.

+

Techno quickly realized Tommy was also way chattier than Phil ever was.

Don’t get him wrong, they were both extroverts. Easily able to walk up to a stranger and be friends for life in about an hour.

The difference was how they did it. Phil was polite, caring more about learning about you than himself. He talked calmly but could still eagerly chatter about subjects that interested him.

Tommy, on the other hand, talked a mile a minute during training. He leaped from one topic to another, going by them so fast Techno barely had time to process what he said.

They were both funny though. Tommy could spout off joke after joke, grinning triumphantly when Techno let out a small huff of laughter.

Unsurprisingly, they talked about Phil a lot. Tommy didn’t remember that much about him but he remembered enough to miss him. He asked Techno loads of questions about him which Techno did try to answer.

What weapon did Phil prefer?

Bow and arrow.

What was the coolest thing he ever did?

He survived a flooded cave with barely a scratch.

Did he really like that girl Kristin?

Oh yeah, they both were simps.

Who was Phil’s favorite brother?

He adored you both.

That answer made Tommy wipe his eyes, claiming that Techno pushed him too hard and made him sweaty.

“So, I heard you volunteered?” Techno said after the end of one of their sessions. He’d figured out Tommy’s strength, a sword that allowed him to utilize his natural speed. “What are you, a career?”

“Pft, fuck no,” Tommy said. “Will’s just too soft to survive here. He cried when Fundy threw up for the first time,”

“Fundy?”

“Ah shit,” Tommy said, his face flushing red. “Don’t-you’ll call me a fucking softy, I just know it,”

Techno shrugged and took another sip of his water.

“I am curious, I guess,”

“Well, Fundy is Wilbur’s kid. Him and Sally’s happy accident,” Tommy said with a chuckle before he looked down with a frown. “And Wilbur can’t afford to die yet, not when Fundy’s still that young. He wouldn’t even remember his dad but he’ll be alright if he forgets his uncle,”

“Tommy…”

“Besides, Wilbur told me not to be reckless and well,” Tommy looked at Techno with a mischievous grin. “I’ve always followed the beat of my own drum Y’know?”

It was then Techno knew he was screwed.

He’d gotten attached again.

+

“So what’s your actual plan kid?”

It was the last night before the games and Techno was doing one last training session with Tommy. They went over everything from how to save yourself from quicksand to climbing trees.

“Well, I met these two guys,” Tommy mumbled through a bite of chicken. “Tubbo and Ranboo, they’re pretty cool. We’re thinking of teaming up. They’ll need my help, obviously,”

“So you made friends then?”

“Yeah, I guess,”

“Want another piece of my wisdom?” Techno said. “Don’t think of them like that. You’ve gotta remember at the end of all this it should just be you and no one else. Trust me, it’ll hurt less if you just kinda…push em away,”

“So what, you want me to stop treating them as friends?”

“See, isn’t it a great tip?”

“Seems like kinda a dick move,” Tommy muttered under his breathe and Techno let out a sigh.

He’d been watching them while they were training and the trio reminded him of them.

When he looked at Ranboo, he saw a flash of blue eyes and a small smile.

When he looked at Tubbo, he saw a flash of black hair and bright laughter.

When he looked at Tommy, sometimes he saw himself from years ago.

Was it so wrong of him to try and spare Tommy the inevitable heartache?

He just hoped that Tommy wouldn’t be too stubborn and would actually listen to him. He seemed to think more with his heart than with his head.

“So, what’re you gonna do while I’m gone?” Tommy asked. “I mean, I know you’ve got a big house but surely you have a hobby or something,”

“Well, you see I haven’t really…gotten around to doing much yet,”

Or he was too drunk to do anything but he didn’t tell Tommy that.

“So what you just sit inside all day and do nothing?”

“Bruh, I’m not that lazy,” Techno said. “Quackity takes me out of the house on occasion,”

“But that’s not really a hobby man! Like what’s something you would love to do?”

Techno took another sip of his wine, tapping his fingers on the table in thought.

“You know, someone a long time ago asked me the same thing,” he said with a chuckle. “I said I wanted to write a book,”

“And have you?”

When writing itself became associated with an arrow in her chest? No, he hadn't written anything yet.

“Nah, writer's block is tough Y’know?”

“Well, you wanna make a little deal with Tommy Trusty then?”

“Don’t call yourself that,”

“Whatever, you’re just jealous that I came up with it,” Tommy said with a scoff. “How about for every week I survive you write a chapter of a book?”

Tommy held out a hand with a confident smile that made Techno huff out a laugh.

“That cockiness is gonna get you killed someday, I swear,”

However, he still shook Tommy’s hand.

The deal was made.

+

Tommy survived his first week but gave Techno several heart attacks in the process.

He never managed to meet up with Ranboo and Tubbo in the chaos of the the cornucopia so Techno just had to pray they’d find each other again.

However, he did almost die when he got shot in the side by an arrow. He would’ve died if that Shroud kid didn’t show up and bandage him up.

So, Techno started writing after the week was up.

The story of a man with crow wings and a woman who could control the elements with magic. How the two were destined to become enemies because of a prophesy but, despite all odds, fell in love with each other.

Techno never thought of himself as a romantic type but these characters were based on them.

If Phil and Kristin couldn’t have a happy ending in life, maybe they could in the world of fiction.

+

It continued like this for the rest of the games, Tommy consistently surviving and Techno consistently writing.

He finally felt…oddly happy doing it. Funny, he hadn’t really felt that in a while.

Maybe this was a coping method of some sort. A way to get all these emotions out onto the page.

Maybe he was moving on. He wouldn’t forget them but he might be done mourning.

The thought terrified and delighted him.

+

Shroud died.

It was the first time Techno had seen Tommy cry.

Techno added new characters to his story. A loud talking raccoon and his best friend a kind-hearted talking spider.

He thinks Tommy would like it.

+

There were three people left and Tommy was one of them.

The other two were Tubbo and Ranboo.

Techno had finished off his book already, seeing as he wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else for the rest of the night. He was quite proud of it.

He sat anxiously perched in his chair as him and Quackity watched the tv.

“The fuck are they doing?” Quacktiy said under his breathe as they watched the trio walk up to each other.

“Probably gonna give each other a fair fight,” Techno said, a bottle of wine sitting on the table.

If Tommy died, Techno was sure he’d chug down the entire thing.

“Hey dickheads!” Tommy yelled up at the sky. “I think this entire thing is fucking bullshit!”

Techno narrowed his eyes at the screen as Tommy yelled up at the cameras, his eyebrows narrowed in fury.

“I refuse to kill my fucking friends for your goddamn entertainment!” Tommy yelled and he held up something to the camera.

“Dude, no fucking way,” Quackity said, his eyes going wide as Tubbo and Ranboo also held up the same thing to the camera. “Dude, they’re not doing what I think they’re doing,”

They were holding Nightlock berries, the one type of berry that could kill you faster than you could blink.

“I think they are Quackity,” Techno said, covering his eyes as the trio gave each other solidarity nods. “There’s not gonna be a victor!”

The entire concept was unbelievable and a slap in the face to The Capital.

“All of their hard work is gonna be a waste!” Techno said with a laugh. “Oh, they’re gonna hate this!”

He heard Quackity gasp as he assumed the berries were being eaten.

“Stop! Stop!”

That was the head game maker. Techno uncovered his eyes and saw the three spit out the berries, all of them looking at each other with wide eyes.

“You-you all win!” The voice said frantically. “This years Hunger Games has three victors!”

Then, the screen turned to static. No celebratory confetti or the announcers hyping up the next episode and telling viewers to send in questions to the victors.

No, it just anticlimactically ended.

Techno and Quackity looked at each other, both of their jaws hanging open in amazement.

Then, Techno burst into laughter. A hysterical kind of laughter that he couldn’t get to stop.

“Don’t you understand Quackity?” He said, standing up with more energy than he’d ever had. “Can’t you feel it? This is-bruh this is gonna change everything!”

+

And it did.

Riots followed and people were protesting against Panem as a whole.

They were called The Nightlock Trio. They swiftly became the faces of rebellion and the fact that other districts could come together to stand against Panem.

The system was crumbling and Techno loved it.

When he was asked if he would leave his luxurious life for the rebellion, he didn’t even think twice.

He dove right in.

+

“Would Phil be proud of me?” Tommy asked one night.

They had taken back some districts, managing to push back peacekeepers. So, that was where they stayed, tired, hungry and dirty. Things were tense, everyone worried about bombs that could fall from the sky on any day.

Techno looked over Tommy for a moment, his blue eyes had dimmed and scars littered his skin. He always looked haunted, just like Niki had all those years ago.

“I think he’d be proud of you,” Techno said, causing a small smile from Tommy’s lips. “But I think he’d hate that you’re fighting in a war in the first place,”

“Yeah, that’s about what Will said,” Tommy said with a bitter chuckle.

Techno gave Tommy a pat on the head.

“I also know he’d want you to sleep,”

“I’ve been fucking trying!”

Techno just chuckled and walked out of the room.

Then, he felt Tommy wrap his arms around Technos waist.

“Getting all soft on me now?” Techno said but he bent down and let Tommy hug him.

“No, it’s just-thanks for everything,” Tommy said. “And for being there for Phil and Kristin. I didn’t know her but I feel like she needed a friend too,”

Techno stood still for a moment, stopping himself from trembling at Tommy’s words.

“I’d do it all over again,” Techno said and the two spent a moment hugging.

Techno hadn’t realized how much he had missed hugs.

“Stay safe big man?”

“I’ll try. Technoblade never dies and all that,”

+

In hindsight, that statement was now quite ironic.

They were in District 1, trying to put it under rebellion control. It was a hard word but Trchno had thought they had won.

That was, until bombs rained down on the district.

He winced as he heard another boom from a distance, his ears still ringing from the first explosion. He was trying to help one of the civilians, a teenager who’d gotten caught in the first blasts and ran over here.

“BLADE!”

He looked up to see Tommy screaming at him, his eyes wide with panic. The only thing holding him back from running up to Techno was Tubbo.

“BLADE! YOU'VE GOTTA MOVE!”

Before he even had time to process it, he felt a shaking underneath his feet.

He heard a boom and then an explosion blew up from under the ground.

All he had time to think of was pain, fire and Tommy screaming at him. He didn’t even get to say any last words, all he could do was scream as his entire body burned.

It was mercifully quick.

Then, everything went black.

+

He blinked and there was a clear blue sky above him.

“Heh?” He muttered as his senses slowly returned. He was laying on his back and he could feel fresh, green grass on the palms of his hands.

“I thought I was?”

He slowly sat up, looking around in confusion.

He was in a meadow, the grassy field seeming to stretch on endlessly. The sun shone in the bright, blue sky and a light breeze.

He felt odd however. He was certain he should feel some kind of pain, seeing as he just got blown up.

He looked down at his hands and went still in shock.

There were no scars on his hands or even on his arms. It was like he’d never been in the games at all. He also felt younger, his figure healthy but he looked more like a teenager than an adult.

Where was he?

He looked in front of him and saw a hill. It wasn’t too steep and it had a huge tree on top of it.

“Whelp, might as well,” Techno said with a shrug as he walked towards the hill. He breathed in the smell of fresh grass as another gust of wind blew past him.

Then, he saw two figures standing on top of the hill. He squinted up at them, struggling to see due to the sunlight and then being under the shadow of the tree.

“Te-techno?”

He halted to a stop at that because he would recognize that voice anywhere. It haunted his nightmares for years but this didn’t feel like a nightmare.

“Phil?”

Phil came out from under the shadow of the tree and ran towards Techno.

He looked exactly like he had when Techno first met him.
No jacker stings on his body and he didn’t look like he was gonna starve to death at any day.

He still had the same huge smile as he ran up to Techno.

“Techno!” He yelled, letting out a laugh of joy as he ran up and hugged Techno.

“You’re here!” He said and Techno could already feel wetness on his shoulder.

“Yeah,” Techno said as he felt his eyes start the water. “I’m here to see you nerds,”

Phil let out another laugh and they both squeezed each other tight, both not wanting to let go.

“TECHNOOOOO!”

Ah, he should’ve guessed she’d be here.

The two were tackled from being and suddenly the three were rolling down the hill. They landed at the bottom in a heap, Phil laughing his ass off as Kristin sat up with a grin.

“It’s been so long!” She said with a squeal and tackled Techno with a hug, almost pulling him back down to the ground again. “You won’t believe how much Phil has worried about you!”

“Oi! You were worried too!”

Techno looked at both of them. They weren’t dead or yelling at him like in his nightmares.

Okay, they technically were dead but they weren’t suffering anymore.

They were happy together.

“Mate?” Phil looked over at him and Kristin furrowed her brows in concern. “You’re crying?”

“Bruh, am I?” He said, his voice watery and wobbly. “Fine, I’ll admit it. I missed you two a lot,”

Then, Kristin started to cry which made Phil start to cry.

Jeez, they were emotional wrecks.

They all sat there in the field.

Then, Phil and Kristin gave him one last hug and got up.

“Race you two to the top of the hill!” Kristin yelled and with that she ran off.

“Hey! Wait for us!” Phil yelled as Kristin laughed at them. Phil fondly smiled and held out a hand to help Techno up. “You ready to go mate?”

“Hey, as long as I’m not alone,” Techno said as Phil helped him up. “Think of this as my retirement I suppose,”

“You do deserve it mate,” Phil said with a smile. “Oh! You’ve gotta tell me how Tommy and Will are doing!”

“Oh dude, trust me you’ll be so impressed,” Techno said and then he started dashing up the hill. “As soon as I beat you up the hill. Later loser!”

He heard Phil let out an offended squawk and Kristin yelled at him to go faster.

He let out a laugh as he got to the top, both of them waiting for Phil to catch up with an annoyed frown.

“I won!” Kristin said with a cheeky grin, causing Techno to roll his eyes and Phil to chuckle. “You guys ready?”

Techno looked ahead, towards a blinding light beyond the tree.

“What’s even past here?”

“Loads of stuff,” Kristin said. “It’s not bad, I promise,”

“We go on three?” Phil said as she stepped to stand in the middle of them. They both nodded in agreement. “Alright! One, two, three!”

The three stepped into the light together.

Techno knew they would never be apart again.

+

When Tommy and Quackity snuck back into the destroyed district, they managed to find Techno’s body in the rubble.

He died smiling.